Historically, credit unions were preceded by widespread development of credit cooperation in many countries of Europe and America. Today in the UK there are about 700 credit unions with assets exceeding 200 million pounds. Credit unions encourage savings of citizens, setting compensation payments (interest) on savings and provide from these savings loans to their members. Members of credit unions place in credit unions usually free fund balances, ie those that remain after expenses devoted to education of children, the acquisition of new properties, additional pension benefits, etc. Standards by which credit unions build their work do not coincide with the standards and regulations of consumer cooperation of the usual type. Credit unions are financial institutions, financial cooperatives of citizens, and in this capacity they are above all associations of people, not unification of capitals, which is typical, for example, for public companies.