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. In 1908. the spread of credit unions has reached the United States. In 1935 President Roosevelt signed the state Charter on credit unions, which became a law. 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. " Credit unions encourage savings of citizens, setting compensation payments (interest) on savings and provide from these savings loans to their members. The uniqueness of credit unions is that they put together the principles and benefits of financial cooperatives, consumer cooperatives and mutual aid funds, born once by trade unions. When organizing the credit union it is important that people know each other and know the extent to which each of them is trustworthy. Credit unions are competitors of savings institutions, adding interest on deposits of members. This applies to the shares, as well as to additional funds transferred to the account in the credit union. The right to use the services of the credit union have only its members. Unlike banks credit unions limit their activities to a closed circle of people.