In the U.S., credit unions have a clear organizational structure. All credit unions belong to one or the other parent credit union (there are 35 of them in the U.S.). Specialization of credit unions to provide financial services to its shareholders requires a particularly strict regulation of membership and acceptable activities. Is necessary that all shareholders of the credit union were members of a single community, would know each other well enough to enjoy mutual trust. At the organization of the credit union it is important that people know each other and know the extent to which each of them is trustworthy. Consumer loan and reliable savings - these are the main goals, which mean "natural persons" having decided to unite in credit consumer cooperative. In some cases, the initiators of credit unions can be trade unions, associations such as social support centers and others. 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. 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. The specifics of credit unions and, in some sense, their uniqueness lies in the fact that they work not for profit and do not appropriate profit. Credit union as a consumer cooperative operates on the principles of equality of all its members.
Is necessary that all shareholders of the credit union were members of a single community, would know each other well enough to enjoy mutual trust. At the organization of the credit union it is important that people know each other and know the extent to which each of them is trustworthy. Specialization of credit unions to provide financial services to its shareholders requires a particularly strict regulation of membership and acceptable activities.