In the U.S., credit unions have a clear organizational structure. All credit unions belong to one or the other parent credit union (there are 35 of them in the U.S.). At the organization of the credit union it is important that people know each other and know the extent to which each of them is trustworthy. To reduce the risk of default on loans members of the credit union shall the joint guarantee. Credit unions appeared in England in the 19th century. In 1844 a group of workers from Rochdale established the first cooperative. 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. Credit unions, like today's credit unions, emerged in the 19th century in Germany as a result of crop failure and famine. U.S. credit unions have another significant difference from the credit cooperatives of farmers: the first have major proportion of short-term loans, the second - long and mostly in real estate. Unlike banks credit unions limit their activities to a closed circle of people.