Despite year-to-year growth in overall membership and total assets for the global credit union movement, World Council of Credit Unions’ (WOCCU) 2021 Statistical Report shows major gaps in key product and service offerings have resulted in different priorities and risk concerns for credit unions in different parts of the world. As of December 31, 2021, there were a total of 393,871,631 members of 87,914 credit unions worth $3.48 trillion in assets across 118 countries. Along with providing...

This month’s featured guest is Diana Dykstra, who was just named Chair of World Council of Credit Unions’ Board of Directors in July. A six-year veteran of the WOCCU Board, Dykstra has more than 40 years of experience in leading top organizations in the financial services industry. She is currently the President and CEO of the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues, and previously served as President and CEO of San Francisco Fire Credit Union and Coasthills Federal Credit Union. During...

The theme for International Credit Union Day 2022 is "Empower Your Financial Future with a Credit Union."  World Council of Credit Unions is looking forward to celebrating that theme on Thursday, October 20. World Council and Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions are leading the way in asking for credit unions to share their member empowerment stories on ICU Day, while Worldwide Foundation Executive Director Mike Reuter is also leading an Empower Campaign to raise $500,000 the global credit...

Episode 15 of the Global Credit Union Podcast examines the global food security crisis caused by COVID-19, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and climate change and looks at whether credit unions can provide more solutions to help local food producers. Jacob Kirkegaard, nonresident senior fellow with the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) and resident senior fellow with the German Marshall Fund of the United States, joins the program to discuss the current issues with the...

Oscar Guzman, Chief of Party for World Council of Credit Unions’ Economic Inclusion Project (EIP), discusses how the USAID-funded activity in Peru and Ecuador connects Venezuelan migrants and low-income local residents to financial services, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, and also works on the prevention of gender-based violence. At the two-year mark, the Economic Inclusion Project has had a tremendous impact in South America and provides some lessons on how to assist migrant...

Robert Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of the Association of British Credit Unions Limited (ABCUL) is our guest for Episode 13 of the Global Credit Union Podcast. ABCUL, World Council’s direct member credit union association in the United Kingdom, is co-hosting the 2022 World Credit Union Conference in Glasgow, Scotland with WOCCU from July 17-20. Along with being an expert on the UK credit union movement, Robert is also a Glasgow native. He talks about all the great things that await you in...

World Council of Credit Unions' (WOCCU) President and CEO Elissa McCarter LaBorde and members of the WOCCU Credit for Agriculture Producers (CAP) Project visited Rzeszow, Poland on April 19 and 20 to hold a series of meetings aimed at exploring ways they can help provide further assistance in Ukraine, where credit unions, their employees and members continue to deal with the tragic consequences of the Russian invasion.  The CAP Project is a USAID-funded activity focused on strengthening...

Our guest on this edition of the Global Credit Union Podcast is “Aleksandr.” A liaison to the Ukrainian credit union movement, Aleksandr talks about the dire circumstances facing both the people of Ukraine and its credit unions. Aleksandr is not his real name. We chose to hide his identity for his safety, but the stories he shares about the devastating impacts of the Russian invasion of his country are very real. Aleksandr discusses what life is like for credit union employees and their...

The World Credit Union Conference returns as an in-person event for 2022! We preview the conference set for July 17-20 in Glasgow, Scotland on Episode 10 of the Global Credit Union Podcast. Belinda Parmar, founder and CEO of The Empathy Business is the featured guest. She will address attendees at the conference on why it is important for credit unions to embrace an empathic style of leadership. Her presentation at WCUC is sponsored by PSCU. World Council of Credit Unions’ Event Marketing and...

Sustainable finance is one of the fastest growing areas of concerns for regulators and credit unions, which is why it is the focus of World Council of Credit Unions’ 2022 Global Regulatory Update for Credit Unions and Financial Cooperatives. World Council Assistant General Counsel of International Advocacy Panya Monford and World Council Senior Vice President of International Advocacy and General Counsel Andy Price join Greg Neumann to discuss that and the other topics covered in their 2022...

Facundo Turconi, owner and CEO of Solven, a South American fintech, is featured on Episode Eight to discuss how his firm has helped credit unions in Peru offer digital credit options to their members in less than two months through World Council of Credit Unions’ Economic Inclusion Project. Funded by USAID, the Economic Inclusion Project seeks to expand financial inclusion to Venezuelan migrants and low-income local residents in Peru and Ecuador. Facundo also talks about the obstacles...

Results of a first-time demographic survey of World Council of Credit Unions' member credit union associations showed women trail far behind men when it comes to credit union membership and leadership. The responses, from 34 credit union associations on five continents, also showed the average credit union member is far older than the average person in the general population.  But two World Council and Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions' programs are actively trying to to reverse those...

New World Council of Credit Unions' (WOCCU) President and CEO Elissa McCarter LaBorde is the featured guest. Elissa took over her new leadership role in August 2021, bringing more than 20 years of experience leading organizations in delivering financial services to underserved communities across the globe. For the previous 12 years, Ms. LaBorde served as Chief Executive Officer of Vitas Group, a for-profit holding company she established under Global Communities, an international development...

Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions’ Executive Director Mike Reuter joins the program in Episode Five to discuss the global journey available to credit unions that take part in the Global Bridges program. As the charitable and engagement arm of World Council of Credit Unions, the Worldwide Foundation started Global Bridges to allow credit unions to select and customize thematic content that gives a global context to current credit union challenges through interactive webinars, peer-to-peer...

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has gained significant interest and momentum in the credit union industry over the past few years. Episode Four of the Global Credit Union Podcast delves into a topic related to DEI as we look at the role of gender in credit union development. Funded by USAID INVEST, World Council of Credit Unions’ Gender Lens Investment for Credit Unions Activity in Senegal is piloting a gender lens investment methodology for credit unions to connect women with needed...

If you work in compliance at a credit union or you advocate on behalf of credit unions at any level of government, you know that standard setters and regulators never sleep. And this summer seems to be even busier than usual for the professionals with World Council of Credit Unions’ International Advocacy team, as the G20 discusses the importance of financial inclusion and other international standard setters focus on the digital operational resilience of financial institutions. So, what...

World Council of Credit Unions' annual World Credit Union Conference (WCUC) is going all virtual for 2021! Due the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, WCUC 2021 will be held online from July 14-21. But that doesn't mean it won't be as exciting as our traditional in-person conferences. In fact, in some respects, it offers more education, engagement and networking opportunities for attendees. It also allows more credit union professionals to take part in the experience, because there are no travel or...

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This is the first edition of The Global Credit Union Podcast – a new initiative of World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU). This new monthly podcast is the only one that will focus on the international credit union and financial cooperative movement. We started this podcast to provide the international credit union community with an in-depth look at some of the interesting and important stories we have to tell here at WOCCU, particularly in the areas of International Advocacy, International...