Credit unions attract people in the first place by the opportunity to get cash loan (credit) - quickly and relatively inexpensively. Credit union services are available only to its shareholders. As of the January 1, 2012 the national associations and confederations unite more than 196 million members participating in the 51,013 credit unions in 100 countries. 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. Historically, credit unions have grown from the experience of credit cooperatives, but they took the experience of organizations of mutual aid of citizens by moving methods of social self-protection from labor and toward consumption. In some cases, the initiators of credit unions can be trade unions, associations such as social support centers and others. Unlike banks, in order to use the services of a credit union, you have to become its member, having written an application and having paid thus shares and membership fee. On the consumer credit market in the U.S. credit unions are on the third place after the commercial banks and finance companies and are ahead of savings institutions, not taking into account the loans on real estate. 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.