Credit Union

A credit union is a cooperative financial institution that is owned and controlled by its members. Credit unions differ from banks and other financial institutions in that the members who have accounts in the credit union are the owners of the credit union. Only a member of a credit union may deposit money with the credit union, or borrow money from it, Credit unions may be viewed as non-profit organizations, or alternatively as for-profit enterprises charged with making a profit for their members. This debate reflects credit unions' unusual organizational structure, which attempts to solve the principal-agent problem by ensuring the owners and the users of the institution are the same people.In any case credit unions generally cannot accept donations and must be able to prosper in a competitive market economy.