Corporate credit unions are united on a cooperative basis in the Central Credit Union (US Central Credit Union). Like the credit cooperatives, credit unions form associations of a higher level, which are called corporate credit unions. Specialization of credit unions to provide financial services to its shareholders requires a particularly strict regulation of membership and acceptable activities. Credit union promotes the effective conservation of personal funds of its members, giving them the loans from the funds of the credit union, as well as the sharing of savings in education, housing, health care and other programs of social support and social development of its members. Credit unions appeared in England in the 19th century. In 1844 a group of workers from Rochdale established the first cooperative.