Activity of the credit union consists of organizing mutual financial assistance by meeting the needs of its members in the services of saving and obtaining loans. Like the credit cooperatives, credit unions form associations of a higher level, which are called corporate credit unions. Credit union is created by a group of members who pursue a common interest. Agreeing to make regular contributions, they create a fund from which can borrow money for investments and replenishment of working capital at favorable interest rates. 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. Credit Union - a non-profit financial institution specialized in mutual financial assistance by providing savings and credit services to their members. Credit cooperatives and credit unions exist in many different forms. The main differences relate to the nature of the membership and the opening of a credit institution. 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.