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. Credit cooperatives and credit unions exist in many different forms. The main differences relate to the nature of the membership and the opening of a credit institution. Main share of credit unions assets is concentrated in loans (about 50%), while the share of consumer loans in commercial banks and finance companies active operations rarely exceeds 15%. The most common type of loans in credit unions are loans to purchase new and used cars (40%), followed by first mortgages and second mortgages (35%), about 10% are unsecured personal loans to member of unions and about 15% - are loans on credit cards and other loans. As of the January 1, 2012 the national associations and confederations unite more than 196 million members participating in the 51,013 credit unions in 100 countries. 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. Some credit unions are closed, serving only their members. However, the more and more popularitywin cooperatives of open type. Credit union as a consumer cooperative operates on the principles of equality of all its members. Credit unions, like today's credit unions, emerged in the 19th century in Germany as a result of crop failure and famine. In 1908. the spread of credit unions has reached the United States. In 1935 President Roosevelt signed the state Charter on credit unions, which became a law.