Historically, credit unions were preceded by widespread development of credit cooperation in many countries of Europe and America. 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. Income derived from the provision of services to its members, does not become the profit of credit union and is distributed among its members in proportion to their savings. Initially, the target groups of credit unions were farmers (Raiffeisen), and now they include both individuals (credit unions), and organizations. Contributions from of shareholders in credit unions in no way can be considered as borrowed funds, they come from the shareholders and for the shareholders and can not be used to provide services to third parties. The value of credit unions is not limited to the role of the economic agent - they are an important element of the social structure and a factor of social stability and progress. The relationship between credit unions and shareholders arise from the membership and are not customer relationship. The specifics of credit unions and, in some sense, their uniqueness lies in the fact that they work not for profit and do not appropriate profit. Corporate alliances are intermediaries between credit unions and financial markets. A potential new member of a credit union must submit a recommendation of shareholders in which the referee becomes a warrant of a future member of the credit union.