A credit union is a member-owned, nonprofit financial cooperative dedicated to the motto; "Not for profit, not for charity, but for service." Credit unions of today have their origins in southern Germany, where cooperative credit societies were formed by poor farmers in the mid-1840s. With feudalism gone, farmers were allowed to own land, but they could not afford to purchase the land, farming equipment, and other things necessary to operate a farm. They needed credit, but existing credit facilities, like banks, would not lend to farmers and other people of lesser means. These people were forced to borrow money from unscrupulous money lenders at exorbitant rates of interest. The credit societies gave people a convenient place to save and borrow money at reasonable rates. The societies became very popular and were known as "people's banks."