Like the credit cooperatives, credit unions form associations of a higher level, which are called corporate credit unions. Credit unions encourage savings of citizens, setting compensation payments (interest) on savings and provide from these savings loans to their members. The relationship of shareholders with credit union are not client-based, they are co-operative, based on different principles and standards, in particular, on the principles of the law of obligations. 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.