BOSTON—The president and CEO of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) touched on three themes in opening remarks to the World Credit Union Conference here, and also offered a reminder over how something that CUs have earned over decades can disappear in a moment.
“Ultimately, our mission at the World Council of Credit Unions is to improve the lives of millions of members around the world through this unique business model of cooperative finance, and to increase financial inclusion through a global network of more than 82,000 credit unions, SACCOs and others that collectively reach more than 400 million members,” said Melissa McCarter Laborde.
The WOCCU CEO touched on three themes:
Unity
At a time of tremendous change in the credit union movement, McCarter Laborde said the movement is also experiencing “renewed unity” in different parts of the world.
Among the examples of that unity cited by McCarter Laborde:
- In the U.S., the merger of CUNA and NAFCU to form America’s Credit Unions
- In Africa, ACOSCA is celebrating its one-year anniversary as a direct member of the World Council
- In Brazil, there is “growing unity and collaboration” among the several credit union associations. Brazil also sent its largest contingent ever of credit union professionals to the World Credit Union Conference
- Moldova has become a direct member of WOCCU
- Romania’s credit unions have just marked its 20-year anniversary
- Singapore’s credit unions are getting ready to mark their 100th anniversary
“Our ability to stay unified is all the more important when we confront the realities of the financial services sector, where size matters where there is a fight for resources and the regulatory costs are real.”
Influence
McCarter Laborde said the World Council’s and credit unions’ influence at the level of international policymakers and regulators remains of “utmost importance to ensure that regulations are proportionate” and that there is a recognition of credit unions as critical actors in advancing global financial inclusion.
She noted WOCCU has had successes at the level of the Basil Committee and the G-20.
The Goal
“Our goal is to provide regulatory frameworks that enable and strengthen credit unions and support the member-owned model and reduce regulatory burden,” McCarter Laborde said.
As an example, she noted WOCCU played a role in helping bring to fruition an eight-year effort in Ukraine to have outdated credit union laws replaced with a new legal framework.
In addition, efforts in Ecuador led to the passage of a new basic account regulation that enables refugees and migrants and very low-income people to access accounts.
Innovation
With the pace of innovation not slowing, McCarter Laborde pointed to the launch by WOCCU of Hub C, an innovation hub aimed at accelerating time to market for fintech partnerships in digital lending and data solutions.
The initiative is especially aimed at smaller institutions and CUs in emerging countries to fast track their digital transformation journeys, according to McCarter Laborde.
“It's not just about digitizing products or channels, it's about connection and collaboration and cooperation that is true to our principles,” she said. “In these first few months we are learning some valuable lessons about gaps in digital readiness, about the importance of alignment not just within management teams but also between management and board, and about the need to act more decisively on smart investments in digital technology.”
A Point of Agreement
While there are differences in the more than 50 countries on hand for the World CU Conference, McCarter Laborde said credit unions globally agree on the need to reach more young people.
She pointed to several success stories, including Coopanae CU in Costa Rica, which has created a digital solution called Wink that targets gig workers. The solution has helped the CU to double its size in six years, she said.
A Final Point
McCarter Laborde said she wanted to emphasize one final point before closing.
“We must continue to evolve our cooperative business model,” she said. “We are all custodians of this movement entrusted with its growth and care. And that means guarding against mission drift. As financial cooperatives we must hold ourselves to a higher standard. We hold the trust of our members and their hard-earned money. We know trust is earned over decades and can be broken in an instant. Trust is what sets us apart.”