Some credit unions are closed, serving only their members. However, the more and more popularitywin cooperatives of open type. Like the credit cooperatives, credit unions form associations of a higher level, which are called corporate credit unions. Credit unions also differ from the traditional consumer cooperatives. Specialization of credit unions to provide financial services to its shareholders requires a particularly strict regulation of membership and acceptable activities. When organizing the credit union it is important that people know each other and know the extent to which each of them is trustworthy. 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. All the members of the credit union, regardless of gender, ethnicity, religious and political beliefs, as well as the size of the monetary share have equal rights. 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. Credit cooperatives and credit unions exist in many different forms. The main differences relate to the nature of the membership and the opening of a credit institution.