Fund of Mutual Financial Aid of the credit union can be extended by sponsorship contributions from businesses, organizations, including on a returnable basis. Credit union services are available only to its 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. Corporate alliances are intermediaries between credit unions and financial markets.