Credit unions attract people in the first place by the opportunity to get cash loan (credit) - quickly and relatively inexpensively. 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. 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. Initially, the target groups of credit unions were farmers (Raiffeisen), and now they include both individuals (credit unions), and organizations. 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. Historically, credit unions have grown from the experience of credit cooperatives, but they took the experience of organizations of mutual aid of citizens by moving methods of social self-protection from labor and toward consumption. Important specifics of creating a credit union - an initiative order of organization: people do not receive any instructions, orders or regulations, the unification into a credit union occurs by their will and decision. Credit unions, like today's credit unions, emerged in the 19th century in Germany as a result of crop failure and famine. To increase the number of credit unions in 1979 was adopted the corresponding law that serves as the legal basis of their activity.