Until the mid-XX century, credit unions in the United States had little assets that did not exceed, as a rule, 100 thousand dollars Initially, the target groups of credit unions were farmers (Raiffeisen), and now they include both individuals (credit unions), and organizations. 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. In some cases, the initiators of credit unions can be trade unions, associations such as social support centers and others. The supreme body of the World Council of Credit Unions is the Assembly, which elects the president and the board of directors of WOCCU. Credit unions base their activities on savings of shareholders, their shares and savings contributions, which make up the fund of mutual financial assistance - a source of cash loans to shareholders. Credit unions historically formed as a special form of social support, initially taken upon themselves the social mission of protecting the interests of citizens in the field of financial services. 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. A credit union on its own initiative order is created by citizens (individuals) to solve their financial problems that they could not solve in other financial institutions.