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. " Borrowing rate for the credit union is a source of income to cover the administrative costs. All excess funds are returned to members in the form of dividends on savings. Income derived from the provision of services to its members, does not become the profit of credit union and is distributed among its members in proportion to their savings. Credit unions of the open type are still controlled by their members, but at the same time provide services to people who are not its members (external customers). The value of credit unions is not limited to the role of the economic agent - they are an important element of the social structure and a factor of social stability and progress. 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.
Income derived from the provision of services to its members, does not become the profit of credit union and is distributed among its members in proportion to their savings. Credit unions of the open type are still controlled by their members, but at the same time provide services to people who are not its members (external customers). Borrowing rate for the credit union is a source of income to cover the administrative costs. All excess funds are returned to members in the form of dividends on savings.