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.). Like the credit cooperatives, credit unions form associations of a higher level, which are called corporate credit unions. As of the January 1, 2012 the national associations and confederations unite more than 196 million members participating in the 51,013 credit unions in 100 countries. The right to use the services of the credit union have only its members. Unlike banks credit unions limit their activities to a closed circle of people.