In the U.S., credit unions have a clear organizational structure. All credit unions belong to one or the other parent credit union (there are 35 of them in the U.S.). To reduce the risk of default on loans members of the credit union shall the joint guarantee. Until the mid-XX century, credit unions in the United States had little assets that did not exceed, as a rule, 100 thousand dollars Credit unions are competitors of savings institutions, adding interest on deposits of members. This applies to the shares, as well as to additional funds transferred to the account in the credit union. Consumer loan and reliable savings - these are the main goals, which mean "natural persons" having decided to unite in credit consumer cooperative. Credit unions encourage the proper use of shareholders savings, developing social programs (education, health, recreation, housing, etc.).