In the U.S., credit unions have a clear organizational structure. All credit unions belong to one or the other parent credit union (there are 35 of them in the U.S.). In recent decades, many credit unions began to resort to such form of service as Typically new members of the credit union become citizens having suretyship or recommendations from their friends - members of the credit union. The main advantage of credit unions consists in transparency, controllability, governance for shareholders. National Credit Union Insurance Fund was created by Congress in 1970 to insure deposits of credit union members in the amount of 100 thousand dollars. Credit Union - one of the most attractive financial institutions for the public being a non-profit alternative to banks.