Like any financial institution, credit unions have the financial resources. Most modern credit unions represent specialized consumer cooperatives of citizens associated by the principle of social community: place of work, place of residence, profession, or any other shared interest. Principles of cooperative democracy and interaction were adequate to the purposes for which people joined credit unions. In the case of default the shareholder - individual will respond with its property and, in addition, is jointly and severally liable with the credit union's commitments. 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. Credit Union - one of the most attractive financial institutions for the public being a non-profit alternative to banks.