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. To get a loan in the credit union a shareholder must be not only a formally adopted there, but necessary pay in cash contributions, the amount and order of payment of which approved by the General Assembly and fixed by the charter. Credit unions also differ from the traditional consumer cooperatives. Specialization of credit unions to provide financial services to its shareholders requires a particularly strict regulation of membership and acceptable activities. 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. 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. Credit union as a consumer cooperative operates on the principles of equality of all its members.