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. To get a loan in the credit union a shareholder must be not only a formally adopted there, but necessary pay in cash contributions, the amount and order of payment of which approved by the General Assembly and fixed by the charter. In recent decades, many credit unions began to resort to such form of service as Like the credit cooperatives, credit unions form associations of a higher level, which are called corporate credit unions. Credit unions also differ from the traditional consumer cooperatives. Credit unions encourage the proper use of shareholders savings, developing social programs (education, health, recreation, housing, etc.).