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. " Today in the UK there are about 700 credit unions with assets exceeding 200 million pounds. The economic basis of credit unions - finances of a household. The main objective of the credit union - to ensure financial stability of a household, to ensure the priority of their shareholders' financial interests. Specialization of credit unions to provide financial services to its shareholders requires a particularly strict regulation of membership and acceptable activities. International cooperation has been particularly felt since the days when Alphonse Desjardins began the activity on development of credit union movement in North America. Consumer loan and reliable savings - these are the main goals, which mean "natural persons" having decided to unite in credit consumer cooperative. The specifics of credit unions and, in some sense, their uniqueness lies in the fact that they work not for profit and do not appropriate profit.