This month on Episode 51 of the Global Credit Union Podcast, we feature our first Member Spotlight on Poland's National Association of Co-operative Savings and Credit Unions (NACSCU), by interviewing NACSCU President Rafał Matusiak.

Rafal, who is also a member of World Council of Credit Unions' (WOCCU) Board of Directors, describes how WOCCU was very influential in restarting the Polish credit union movement after the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe in the early 1990s.

He also discusses how NACSCU has built and maintained the largest credit union system in mainland Europe, and why his organization is so involved in both regional and international advocacy efforts with WOCCU.

We preview the 2025 World Credit Union Conference this month on Episode 50 of The Global Credit Union Podcast.

Christi Swoboda, WOCCU Director of International Meetings and Events, shares all the you need to know before you arrive in Stockholm, Sweden, and also previews the keynote speakers and major themes being covered at WCUC 2025 from July 14-16. 

There will be more sessions focused on advocacy, policy and regulations in Stockholm than at any previous World Credit Union Conference. Paul Andrews, WOCCU Vice President of International Advocacy, and Erin O'Hern, WOCCU International Advocacy and Regulatory Counsel, discuss the importance of those sessions and what you can learn and take back to your credit union.

There is a lot for attendees to get excited about outside the conference as well. Karin Mäntymäki, Director of International Market Development for Visit Stockholm, talks about all that Sweden's world-class capital has to offer.

You'll also hear about events the Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions is hosting in conjunction with WCUC 2025, and how you can register for those. It's an episode you don't want to miss! 

World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) Interim President and CEO Paul Treinen is the featured guest this month. He talks about his vision for moving our organization forward during a time of transition.

The WOCCU Board of Directors in April appointed Paul to the temporary leadership position upon the departure of Elissa McCarter LaBorde. Paul is no stranger to WOCCU, having served as its Chief Operating Officer and then Executive Vice President from 2017 until 2023.But now he is back and joins us to discuss World Council's commitment to a greater focus on the members of our trade association and their credit unions, especially in the form of our international advocacy efforts on their behalf and the upcoming 2025 World Credit Union Conference in Stockholm, Sweden, this July.

World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) launched the promotion of International Credit Union Day 2025 in April under the theme “Cooperation for a Prosperous World”. It ties into the United Nations declaring 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives under the theme "Cooperatives Build a Better World."

WOCCU Director of Member Services Thom Belekevich joins the podcast to discuss the importance of that theme, which will be celebrated on Thursday, October 16. Marcey Ciaccio, Philanthropy Manager for Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions (WFCU), also joins us to explain the thought process behind this year's ICU Day 2025 posters, and to highlight how WFCU is offering an ICU Day commemorative pin for the second straight year, as well as paid media kit, which is new for 2025.

International Credit Union Day 2025 is sponsored by Velera, one of the largest card issuers for credit unions in the United States. Brian Caldarelli, Velera's Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer - who also sits on the WFCU Board of Directors, also joins me to discuss the organization's passion for cooperation and collaboration as it relates to ICU Day.

World Council of Credit Unions’ (WOCCU) President and CEO Elissa McCarter LaBorde returns to the podcast along with Mike Reuter, President of Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions (WFCU), to discuss WFCU’s Rally the Movement campaign.

Since we recorded our last episode, USAID terminated all three of its awards that funded World Council international development projects in seven countries. Rally the Movement is an effort to maintain some of that work in at least three countries – Ukraine, Kenya and Guatemala – through the generous support of the global credit union movement.

We talk about why that effort is so necessary, and how World Council will put those funds to use.

To donate to the Rally the Movement campaign, visit: https://doglobalgood.org/rally

World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) faces a crucial moment in its history. Due to the U.S. freeze on all foreign aid, we have had to stop work on all three of the international development projects we had been implementing on behalf of the U.S. government. That has resulted in reductions for WOCCU’s Global Programs’ staff both overseas and here in the U.S. It has also left our future in international development in question.

But we are not sitting still. This month, new WOCCU Vice President of International Advocacy Paul Andrews and WOCCU International Advocacy and Regulatory Counsel Erin O’Hern join the podcast in the episode to discuss our efforts to show the value of the work we do on behalf of American taxpayers, and how we are trying to ensure it continues moving forward, by engaging with key U.S. credit union leaders and their members of Congress.

We are excited to launch a new format for The Global Credit Union Podcast in 2025.

While you'll still hear interviews with World Council of Credit Unions' (WOCCU) executives and other global credit union leaders on a wide range of topics that are vitally important to our industry, you'll now also get up to date information about what WOCCU and Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions (WFCU) have been up to over the past month, and hear about events and plans for the next 30 days.

To accomplish that, WOCCU Director of Communications Greg Neumann welcomes WFCU Marketing, Communications and Grant Management Consultant Alisa Stetsyshyn as a monthly contributor. Previous to her work with WFCU, Alisa served as the Communications Lead Consultant for the WOCCU Credit for Agriculture Producers' (CAP) Project in Ukraine.

To start 2025, Greg and Alisa discuss some new developments at both WOCCU and WFCU in January, and give a full preview of what's ahead for both organizations for the rest of the year.

The Global Women’s Leadership Network's (GWLN) 2023 Empowerment Grant initiatives supported over 760 individuals in Kenya and Mongolia, increased Kenyan farmers’ incomes by 20% and provided 112 Mongolian credit union leaders with training on sustainable finance, driving economic empowerment and sustainability in rural communities.

In this episode, Enkhchimeg Nergui, Partnership Specialist at the Mongolian National Confederation of Credit Unions, and Violet Ndungu, CEO of Muki SACCO (Kenya), discuss how they used the US $10,000 grants to implement projects through credit unions that advanced social impact, uplifted underserved groups and expanded financial inclusion.

Implemented from September 2023 to July 2024, the projects supported sustainable development goals and created new opportunities for women and youth.

When the Cayman Islands' Ministry of Finance in August proposed a new $200,000 annual registration fee for the country's only credit union, Cayman Islands Civil Service Association Credit Union (CICSA) Limited CEO Patricia Estwick immediately mobilized employees, board directors and members, while also enlisting assistance from the Caribbean Confederation of Credit Unions (CCCU) and World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) International Advocacy team to stop it.

Patricia Estwick and CCCU General Manager Denise Garfield join us for Episode 43 of The Global Credit Union Podcast to discuss how they successfully challenged this burdensome proposal through a combination of grassroots advocacy and global support.

This month’s episode of the podcast focuses on how technical specialists with World Council of Credit Unions’ (WOCCU) Global Programs' teams are growing financial inclusion through credit unions in developing nations.

Nearly 20 of the specialists gathered in Washington, D.C. in early October for WOCCU’s annual Project Administrators Workshop, or “PAWS”. You’ll hear from more than a dozen voices who are working to bring financial inclusion to last mile credit union members and other vulnerable populations in seven developing nations across Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe. 

Hear how they share similar challenges, learn from one another and take that knowledge back to their project countries to further grow the credit union movement.

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 American credit union professionals.

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.