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. " Until the 70's there was a proliferation of the U.S. credit unions due to the increase of their number and the number of shareholders, although it must be acknowledged that there was also and a qualitative growth. Over 30% of the assets of credit unions are investments in government securities, certificates of deposit of banks and savings loan associations, as well as in the parent credit unions, and other risk-free investments. 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. Contributions from of shareholders in credit unions in no way can be considered as borrowed funds, they come from the shareholders and for the shareholders and can not be used to provide services to third parties. In the case of default the shareholder - individual will respond with its property and, in addition, is jointly and severally liable with the credit union's commitments. In the UK, credit unions are a source of financing of people groups. This tool is not widely used. Credit Union - a non-profit financial institution specialized in mutual financial assistance by providing savings and credit services to their members. Corporate alliances are intermediaries between credit unions and financial markets.