While dating back to 1852, credit unions really came into their own in the wake of the Great Depression. At a time when the nation was still trying to recover economically, credit unions and their focus on operating in the best interests of their members, rather than those of shareholders, caught on.

That same dynamic explains, in large part, why credit unions have fared so well since 2008′s Great Recession. The so-called "credit union difference" – member-owned, democratically-run earnings returned to members through higher interest rates, lower loan rates, etc. – has helped credit union membership rise more than 15% over the past eight years.

Today, almost 110 million Americans – nearly 45% of the country's economically active population – are credit union members. Total credit union assets are up by more than a third over that same period, while assets per credit union have nearly doubled.