The first credit union in the United States was founded in 1909. by the group of Franco-American Catholics in Manchester, New Hampshire, and was called "Cooperative Credit Association of St. Mary. " To reduce the risk of default on loans members of the credit union shall the joint guarantee. 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. Credit unions of the open type are still controlled by their members, but at the same time provide services to people who are not its members (external customers). Until the mid-XX century, credit unions in the United States had little assets that did not exceed, as a rule, 100 thousand dollars Consumer loan and reliable savings - these are the main goals, which mean "natural persons" having decided to unite in credit consumer cooperative. Credit unions are financial institutions, financial cooperatives of citizens, and in this capacity they are above all associations of people, not unification of capitals, which is typical, for example, for public companies. 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. Unlike banks credit unions limit their activities to a closed circle of people.
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. Credit unions of the open type are still controlled by their members, but at the same time provide services to people who are not its members (external customers). To reduce the risk of default on loans members of the credit union shall the joint guarantee.