Historically, credit unions were preceded by widespread development of credit cooperation in many countries of Europe and America. To date, credit unions - virtually the only form of financial institution where people can quickly and without any problems get a relatively inexpensive cash loan. 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 also differ from the traditional consumer cooperatives. The difference between credit unions and banks is clearly is apparent when comparing the structure of assets and liabilities of credit unions and banks. The main advantage of credit unions consists in transparency, controllability, governance for shareholders. 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. Standards by which credit unions build their work do not coincide with the standards and regulations of consumer cooperation of the usual type. Credit Union - a non-profit financial institution specialized in mutual financial assistance by providing savings and credit services to their members. 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.