National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) - an independent federal agency, based in Washington (State of Columbia), established by the U.S. Congress to oversee the federal credit union system. Credit unions encourage savings of citizens, setting compensation payments (interest) on savings and provide from these savings loans to their members. Principles of cooperative democracy and interaction were adequate to the purposes for which people joined credit unions. Members of credit unions place in credit unions usually free fund balances, ie those that remain after expenses devoted to education of children, the acquisition of new properties, additional pension benefits, etc. 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. Credit unions appeared in England in the 19th century. In 1844 a group of workers from Rochdale established the first cooperative. Standards by which credit unions build their work do not coincide with the standards and regulations of consumer cooperation of the usual type.