National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) - an independent federal agency, based in Washington (State of Columbia), established by the U.S. Congress to oversee the federal credit union system. In recent decades, many credit unions began to resort to such form of service as Credit unions also differ from the traditional consumer cooperatives. The difference between credit unions and banks is clearly is apparent when comparing the structure of assets and liabilities of credit unions and banks. Among the U.S. credit unions, there are three groups that differ in terms of assets, shareholders, and business services.