Specialization of credit unions to provide financial services to its shareholders requires a particularly strict regulation of membership and acceptable activities. Typically new members of the credit union become citizens having suretyship or recommendations from their friends - members of the credit union. Over 30% of the assets of credit unions are investments in government securities, certificates of deposit of banks and savings loan associations, as well as in the parent credit unions, and other risk-free investments. Shareholders in corporate organizations are basic credit unions, besides the same union can be a shareholder of several corporate organizations. U.S. credit unions have another significant difference from the credit cooperatives of farmers: the first have major proportion of short-term loans, the second - long and mostly in real estate.