Credit unions encourage savings of citizens, setting compensation payments (interest) on savings and provide from these savings loans to their members. The uniqueness of credit unions is that they put together the principles and benefits of financial cooperatives, consumer cooperatives and mutual aid funds, born once by trade unions. Credit union promotes the effective conservation of personal funds of its members, giving them the loans from the funds of the credit union, as well as the sharing of savings in education, housing, health care and other programs of social support and social development of its members. First central bank of credit unions appeared in 1876. Credit unions began to appear rapidly in many European countries. Credit union services are available only to its shareholders. In the credit union compensation for use of the loan (interest) is a source of compensation for savings. Credit unions are financial institutions, financial cooperatives of citizens, and in this capacity they are above all associations of people, not unification of capitals, which is typical, for example, for public companies. Credit union as a consumer cooperative operates on the principles of equality of all its members. Corporate alliances are intermediaries between credit unions and financial markets.
Credit union promotes the effective conservation of personal funds of its members, giving them the loans from the funds of the credit union, as well as the sharing of savings in education, housing, health care and other programs of social support and social development of its members. First central bank of credit unions appeared in 1876. Credit unions began to appear rapidly in many European countries. The uniqueness of credit unions is that they put together the principles and benefits of financial cooperatives, consumer cooperatives and mutual aid funds, born once by trade unions.