The Global Credit Union Podcast

This month on the Global Credit Union Podcast, Michael Lawrence joins us to discuss his new role as Chair of the World Council of Credit Unions' Board of Directors.

Lawrence is the Chief Executive Officer of the Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA), the industry body for Australia’s credit unions, building societies and mutual banks, a position he's served in since December 2017.

He became a WOCCU Director in April 2018, and was elected to serve as Chair of the Board in 2024.

Lawrence has over 30 years experience in financial services, primarily gained with AMP Bank and National Australia Bank.

Michael discusses why he believes WOCCU's biggest asset is its strength in membership, especially when it comes to advocating for credit unions in front of international financial standard setting bodies, such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

We go back to Ukraine this month to speak with Ewa Sierzynska, Chief of Party for World Council of Credit Unions' new GROW Project, a four-year, $10 million initiative funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that will seek to expand access to finance through credit unions for individuals in Ukraine seeking to start a business, and for existing legal entities looking to expand their operations.

The GROW Project will work with credit unions to assist entrepreneurs, as well as micro, medium and small enterprises (MSMEs), cooperatives, farms and other individuals in rural areas of the country.

Ewa is also Chief of Party for the USAID/WOCCU Credit for Agriculture Producers (CAP) Project in Ukraine, which wraps up at the end of September. She'll also talk about how GROW seeks to build on the work started with CAP, specifically in providing lending to agribusinesses, and working with the country's regulator to ensure a more enabling environment for credit unions.

Leaders from World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) and Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions (WFCU) discuss their efforts to create a theme of unity and togetherness for the 76th anniversary of International Credit Union (ICU) Day® on Thursday, October 17, 2024.

WOCCU Director of Member Services Thom Belekevich, WFCU President Mike Reuter and WFCU Philanthropy Manager Marcey Ciaccio discuss the creation of "One World Through Cooperative Finance" as the theme for ICU Day 2024.

The trio discuss how they want the global credit union movement to educate their members and communities about the value of credit unions, to participate in WFCU's fundraising efforts for ICU Day and to share their celebrations of the day on social media to make it a truly global event.

Sponsored by Creatio, Episode 38 of The Global Credit Union Podcast gets you ready with everything you need to know for the 2024 World Credit Union Conference in Boston, July 21-24.

Christi Swoboda, Director of International Meetings and Events for World Council of Credit Unions, is organizing her 11th World Credit Union Conference, and joins the program to preview what attendees can look forward to during the conference and beyond.

Andrea White, President and CEO of Naveo Credit Union, headquartered in Greater Boston, provides a rundown of some of the area's best attractions, and discusses the credit union visit she'll be hosting for global credit union professionals on the afternoon of July 24.

And Andy Zambito, Chief Sales Officer for Creatio, discusses his organization's no-code platform for credit unions, and talks about how how conference attendees will be able to see a live demonstration of that technology in Booth 1032 of the Solutions Center at WCUC 2024.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused many credit unions around the world to lose the face-to-face contact they had with members in their branches. That was especially difficult for credit unions without widespread digital capabilities, because those same members were then unable to process transactions virtually.

It was under those circumstances that led the Caribbean Confederation of Credit Unions (CCCU) to reach out for assistance from the National Credit Union Federation of Korea (NACUFOK), which has one of the most digitally forward credit union systems in the entire world.

Their conversations led to a World Council of Credit Unions' and Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions' Global Bridges engagement to have NACUFOK assist CCCU with digital growth, which has now come to life with Caribbean IDEAS.

CCCU General Manager Denise Garfield is the guest on Episode 37 to discuss where they are starting with improving their digital capabilities and why NACUFOK has been the perfect partner for them.

America’s Credit Unions’ Governmental Affairs Conference took place in early March in Washington, D.C. Better known simply as GAC, it is the largest annual gathering for credit union professionals in the United States. But each year, more and more international credit union professionals make the long journey to GAC as well, because they learn so much to take back home to implement in their credit unions overseas.

On this month’s episode of the podcast, we feature conversations with credit union professionals from the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, Africa and even New Zealand, about why they make such a long trip to meet with and learn from

February is Black History Month in the United States and Canada, and we use that as a jumping off point for a discussion about the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) movement taking hold at credit unions on a number of continents.

Renee Sattiewhite, President and CEO of the African-American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC) and Board Director for Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions, speaks about the DEI movement in the United States.

We also hear from Alexnadre Englert Barbosa, Executive Director of Sustainability, Administration and Finance at Sicredi about how their Brazilian credit union system views DEI as part of their greater sustainability efforts.

And Ruksana Kauser, a member of the Association of British Credit Unions Limited’s (ABCUL) Inclusivity Group, talks about her experiences as a Muslim young credit union professional in the UK and how ABCUL is trying to recruit more diverse board members, as we examine how credit unions are building more diverse, equitable and inclusive organizations from the branch to the board room.

If technological innovations are going to truly boost financial inclusion worldwide, international standard setting bodies and national-level regulators must consider the institutions offering digital financial products and services as much as they examine how those deliverables are offered when contemplating new compliance requirements. Were regulations to be written only for the large international banks as innovation and new technologies evolve, credit unions and other community-based cooperative institutions will be excluded from key aspects of the financial services market.

That’s the overriding theme of World Council of Credit Unions’ (WOCCU) 2024 Global Regulatory Update, which stresses how important it is for WOCCU and other credit union associations around the globe to advocate for fair, proportional treatment from the policymakers developing our digital regulatory environment.  

On today's episode, Erin O'Hern, World Council of Credit Unions' International Advocacy and Regulatory Counsel, and Andrew Price, World Council Senior Vice President and International Advocacy and General Counsel, discuss that premise and the ways regulators are looking at how international standard setters in 2024 are viewing other issues, such as payments, cybersecurity, sustainable finance and AML/CFT.

We wrap up 2023 by taking a look back at how World Council succeeded this year in making credit unions more relevant in key strategic areas, such as climate resilience, digitalization and the financial inclusion of migrants, refugees, women and youth.

Our professionals also talk about how World Council put on a record-setting 2023 World Credit Union Conference, expanded our membership base and scored major advocacy victories on behalf of our members. Plus, we look ahead to what should be another promising year in 2024.