Historically, credit unions were preceded by widespread development of credit cooperation in many countries of Europe and America. 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. 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. " Representative organization, leading the coordination work in the field of development of both global and national credit union movement is the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) established in 1971 (headquartered in Madison, USA). Credit unions encourage savings of citizens, setting compensation payments (interest) on savings and provide from these savings loans to their members. Income received by the credit union shall be distributed among the shareholders or spent for the depreciation of services, that is, are the most effective means of meeting the needs of shareholders. Credit unions, like today's credit unions, emerged in the 19th century in Germany as a result of crop failure and famine. Standards by which credit unions build their work do not coincide with the standards and regulations of consumer cooperation of the usual type. Credit unions are financial institutions, financial cooperatives of citizens, and in this capacity they are above all associations of people, not unification of capitals, which is typical, for example, for public companies. Credit union as a consumer cooperative operates on the principles of equality of all its members.