First central bank of credit unions appeared in 1876. Credit unions began to appear rapidly in many European countries. 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 number of shareholders of a credit union is limited and formalized by a list. Limit of the number is defined by the assembly and such assembly establishes the charter. 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. Specialization of credit unions to provide financial services to its shareholders requires a particularly strict regulation of membership and acceptable activities. 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. Cooperation between credit unions, how they would not have been named, took place always, from the moment when the movement moved outside one credit union. The specifics of credit unions and, in some sense, their uniqueness lies in the fact that they work not for profit and do not appropriate profit.
The number of shareholders of a credit union is limited and formalized by a list. Limit of the number is defined by the assembly and such assembly establishes the charter. 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. 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.