Partnerships Program - World Council of Credit Unions

2013
International
Partnerships Program
ANNUAL REPORT
World Council of Credit Unions, Inc.
Victor Miguel Corro
Vice President, Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions
Joshua Fetting
Program Manager
2010: January–December
Executive Summary
I
n 2013, World Council of Credit Unions added a new relationship to its
existing International Partnerships Program as Cooperativa de Ahorro y
Crédito OSCUS Ltda. of Ecuador and BCU of Illinois signed a partnership
agreement in June.
The partnerships program maintained its strong level of World Council
supporters with all 20 partnerships having at least one partner providing
direct financial support to the program. There were a total of 42 financial
supporters in the program in 2013, a decline of seven supporters from last
year. The decline in supporters can be attributed to mergers of institutions
that donated individually in the past.
Partnership activities and other events sponsored by the partnerships
program received good coverage across trade and social media. Articles
and stories on international partners and departmental programs appeared
in league newsletters, CUNA’s News Now, Credit Union Magazine, Credit
Union Times and, periodically, in non-U.S. financial and trade publications.
The department has also started to focus its communication efforts on
timely, informative posts through social media outlets, allowing the stories to
spread faster and reach a wider audience.
In 2013, World Council also reoriented its offering of international training
programs, focusing on larger groups with a more technical scope of work.
This strategy included developing an annual financial management workshop
geared toward Latin American credit unions. The pilot workshop was held in
Miami, Florida, and focused on risk management. It attracted 68 participants
from nine countries.
The Worldwide Foundation applied for a renewal of the U.S. State
Department grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office
of Citizen Exchanges, to carry out the International Credit Union Leadership
Program in 2014 and 2015. The proposal was approved; however, due to
the government sequester, the U.S. Department of State did not receive
enough funds to fund all approved proposals in the program.
2013 PARTNERSHIP ACTIVITIES
Total number of
partnerships
20
New partnerships
signed in 2013
1
Number of active
partnerships in 2013
12
Total partnership activities
15
Number of World Council
Supporters involved in
partnerships program
42
STUDY TOURS &
TRAINING EVENTS
Total number of programs
11
Total participants
264
In 2013, World Council’s International Partnerships Program serviced 20 different partnerships:
SIGNED PARTNERSHIPS
1. Bahamas / Massachusetts
2. Belize / Catalyst Corporate Federal Credit Union
3. Brazil / Cornerstone Credit Union League
4. Colombia / Maryland & DC Credit Union Association
5. Costa Rica / League of Southeastern Credit Unions
6. Dominican Republic / Wisconsin
7. Ecuador OSCUS / BCU
8. Estonia / Virginia
9. Ghana / Jefferson Financial Credit Union
10. Guatemala / California & Nevada
11. Jamaica / Cornerstone Credit Union League
12. Mexico Federación Alianza / Mountain West Credit Union Association
13. New Zealand / Central 1 of Canada
14. Paraguay / Minnesota
15. Peru / Vermont
16. Poland / Georgia (direct relationship)
17. Puerto Rico / New York
18. Romania / Ohio
19. Russia / Louisiana, including Altai CU Association / Barksdale FCU
20. Trinidad & Tobago / Connecticut
The following reports outline what was achieved within each partnership.
Bahamas Co-operative League Limited &
Massachusetts Credit Union League
I
n April, eight representatives from the Bahamas Cooperative League Limited traveled to Massachusetts to
learn from credit unions in the greater Boston area. While
in Massachusetts, the Bahamian delegation participated in
the Leominster CU4Reality Program, in addition to learn-
ing about new product innovation at the Greater New
England Credit Union Show. The delegates also met with
the Massachusetts Credit Union League to discuss governance and best practices in advocacy, focusing on strategies to become more competitive in today’s marketplace.
Brazil SICREDI &
Cornerstone Credit Union League
I
n October, nine credit unions from Texas, Oklahoma and
Arkansas participated in the International Credit Union
Leadership Program (ICULP) by hosting eight Brazilian
credit union professionals for a month-long internship.
The ICULP, a program made possible by a grant from
the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs, Office of Citizen Exchanges, seeks to give
credit union career oriented employees a chance to learn
about credit unions and best practices in another country
through short-term internships.
Costa Rica (FEDEAC) &
League of Southeastern Credit Unions
I
Credit Union; Martin Federal Credit Union; Redstone
Federal Credit Union; and Alabama Credit Union.
The credit unions participating in the program included
CFE Federal Credit Union; South Florida Educational
Federal Credit Union; Suncoast Schools Federal Credit
Union; FloridaCentral Credit Union; Innovations Federal
In addition to the ICULP program, the League of
Southeastern Credit Unions (LSCU) sponsored Ana
Calvo, financial analyst of Coopeande #1 in Costa Rica, to
participate in the LSCU Annual Convention and Exposition
where she attended sessions on technology, innovation
and leadership development.
n April, eight Florida and Alabama credit unions
participated in the International Credit Union Leadership
Program (ICULP) by hosting eight Costa Rican credit
union professionals for a month-long internship.
Ecuador OSCUS &
BCU
I
n June, a delegation of two credit union representatives
from BCU of Illinois traveled to Ambato, Ecuador, to
engage with their new credit union partner, Cooperativa
de Ahorro y Crédito OSCUS Ltda. Bob Pondelicek, BCU
director of mortgage sales; and José Cajigas, BCU regional
director, made the journey to the South American country
to learn about OSCUS’s operations and also provide
guidance on how BCU provides home financing. The visit
also coincided with OCSUS’s 50th anniversary, which
included a large event at a historic theater in Ambato.
During the event, the partnership agreement was signed
in Spanish and local political leaders gave speeches and
presented awards.
Estonian Union of Credit Cooperatives &
Virginia Credit Union League
I
n July, Erki Pisuke, CEO of Tartu Credit Union in Estonia, participated in a short-term internship program with
Virginia credit unions, including UVA Community Credit
Union, Fairfax County Federal Credit Union and BayPort
Credit Union. Pisuke’s internship focused on lending,
marketing, financial management and risk analysis. Pisuke
also spent time with the Virginia Credit Union League to
learn about shared branching, deposit insurance and current trends in compliance.
Guatemala FENACOAC/MICOOPE &
California & Nevada Credit Union Leagues
I
n April, Diana Dykstra, California and Nevada Credit
Union Leagues president and CEO, conducted a workshop on governance and strategy with the board of directors of Federación Nacional de Cooperativas de Ahorro y
Crédito (FENACOAC), Guatemala’s national credit union
trade association. Dykstra—along with Oswaldo Oliva,
FENACOAC CEO; and Victor Miguel Corro, World Council vice president of the Worldwide Foundation for Credit
Unions—also visited with the Superintendency of Banks to
advocate for credit union-specific regulation. Their technical staff is working on a draft that will ultimately result in
a credit union law in Guatemala. The Superintendency
had asked for help in getting case studies for countries in
which credit unions are successfully regulated and where
the risk is well managed. World Council provided the
study.
Dykstra also traveled to Guatemala City on Nov. 26–28 to
participate in FENACOAC’s annual meeting and 50th anniversary. Dykstra presented to young entrepreneurs on how
credit unions can be a vehicle for them to create, sustain
and make their small businesses successful. FENACOAC
is working to attract young members to credit unions and
will soon celebrate reaching the outreach milestone of 1.5
million members.
New Zealand Association for Credit Unions &
Central 1 of Canada
T
he partnership between the New Zealand Association
of Credit Unions (NZACU) and Central 1 continued to
focus on sharing best practices in marketing and branding
through two face-to-face exchanges. Following the 2013
World Credit Union Conference in Ottawa, Canada, New
Zealand delegates Henry Lynch and Jonathan Lee visited
credit unions in the Toronto area. Later in 2013, a Canadian delegation including Scott Kennedy, Linda Archer and
Jody Burk traveled to New Zealand to present on marketing and branding strategies.
Peru FENACREP &
Association of Vermont Credit Unions
I
n October, a delegation of eight credit union leaders from
AELUCOOP Peru visited their international partners,
Vermont Federal Credit Union (VFCU). The exchange
focused on strategic planning, best practices, innovations
in IT and updates on industry-wide regulatory trends.
The weeklong visit included working sessions with top
executives from VFCU as well as a technical dialogue
with representatives of the Association of Vermont Credit
Unions.
Poland NACSCU & Georgia Credit Union Affiliates
(Direct partnership, report provided by Dan Denning, GCUA Partnership Liaison)
D
elta Community Credit Union hosted five visitors from
their partner credit union, SKOK Jaworzno, for a one
week visit. The delegates met with the members of the
management team and visited Delta Community Credit
Union branches. Dan Denning, Georgia Credit Union
Affiliates staff facilitator for the Georgia-Polish partnership,
was on hand and was able to provide the visitors with a
historical overview of the partnership since its inception
in 1995. The Polish delegates also visited the Federal
Reserve, the Georgia State Capital, Delta Air Lines, Inc.,
and the Polish and Slavic Federal Credit Union in New
York.
Romania FEDCAR &
Ohio Credit Union League
I
n June, Karen Reams, Millstream Area Credit Union
president and CEO, joined John Florian, Ohio Credit
Union League vice president of government affairs, for
a visit to Romania to discuss effective marketing and
community outreach strategies to help credit unions
there deal with slow growth. One highlight was Reams’
presentation on the traits of a successful marketing
campaign to a group of 100 credit union officials at a
seminar in Bucharest.
The delegates also traveled to the region of Transylvania
to meet with Teius Credit Union. During their visit, the city’s
mayor gave them a tour of a community center that the
credit union is building.
Reams and Florian also met with Federation of Romanian
Credit Unions (FEDCAR) Chairman Serban Nicolae, who
also serves as a senator in the country’s parliament.
Senator Nicolae discussed his plan to soon introduce
legislation that will provide new credibility to the Romanian
credit union movement by establishing a legitimate
supervisory structure to regulate the credit unions.
Russia Credit Union League & Louisiana Credit Union League,
Altai Credit Union Association & Barksdale Federal Credit Union
I
n April, Eric Richard, CUNA executive vice president
and general counsel; and Rod Taylor, Barksdale Federal
Credit Union president and CEO, flew to Moscow and Ufa,
Russia, to speak at the Russian Credit Union Forum.
Following the World Credit Union Conference in July, a
delegation of 19 Russian credit union professionals and
volunteers traveled to New York and Louisiana to meet
with the Louisiana Credit Union League and various
credit unions to learn about best practices in operations
and governance. One of the hosting Louisiana credit
unions, Jefferson Financial Credit Union, signed a letter
of friendship with the Union of Credit Cooperation of Ufa
located in the Russian city of Ufa. The other credit unions
visited included Bay Ridge Credit Union in New York and
Barksdale Federal Credit Union in Louisiana.
In November, Barksdale Federal Credit Union sponsored
Galina Petrova, an employee from a credit union in
Barnaul, Russia, to participate in a one-month internship
at Barksdale. During her internship, Petrova worked in all
of the major departments, including operations, marketing,
human resources and various branches, to learn new
policies and procedures to implement in her credit union
back in Russia.
Co-operative Credit Union League of Trinidad & Tobago
& Credit Union League of Connecticut
(Direct partnership, report provided by Kathy Chartier, Members CU CEO)
I
n May, Connecticut credit union representatives, Joanne
Todd, President & CEO of Northeast Family Federal
Credit Union, and Kathy Chartier, President & CEO of
Members Credit Union, visited Trinidad to spend time with
partner credit unions and attend a leadership conference
in Suriname. Chartier met with partner credit union, Neal
and Massy North Credit Union, to plan the next steps
for their partnership, including beginning an exchange
program between the credit unions. The Connecticut
delegates also met with COPOS Credit Union and were
invited to a dinner with the board of San Fernando Credit
Union to talk about the partnership program and the
expectations for their credit union.
After the leadership conference, the delegates engaged in
a planning meeting with Co-operative Credit Union League
of Trinidad & Tobago representatives, Dianne Joseph,
general manager, and Joseph Remy, chairman. Remy
expressed commitment to growing and strengthening the
league and expanding the focus of the partnership going
forward.
Later in the year, Chartier participated in the CaribDE
Program in Trinidad as a mentor. David Marquez of
COPOS Credit Union of Trinidad and Chartier also a
presented on the partnership and the value of international
exposure as well as general information on World Council
programs such as the Global Womens’ Leadership
Network and WYCUP.
In October, Members Credit Union staff member, Vanessa
Molla, spent two weeks at Neal and Massy North Credit
Union as part of a staff exchange program where she lived
with a host family and spent time in each department of
the credit union to learn about its operations. Molla was
also able to take part in the International Credit Union Day
celebrations.