Most modern credit unions represent specialized consumer cooperatives of citizens associated by the principle of social community: place of work, place of residence, profession, or any other shared interest. 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. " Specialization of credit unions to provide financial services to its shareholders requires a particularly strict regulation of membership and acceptable activities. Income received by the credit union shall be distributed among the shareholders or spent for the depreciation of services, that is, are the most effective means of meeting the needs of shareholders. Income derived from the provision of services to its members, does not become the profit of credit union and is distributed among its members in proportion to their savings. 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.