Risk management focus of CPM visit

Caja Popular Mexicana (CPM), the largest credit union in Mexico, wrapped up a three-day tour in Texas where it visited with credit union executives at Unity One FCU (Fort Worth) before participating in an afternoon Juntos Avanzamos flagship ceremony. Unity OneFCU earned the Juntos Avanzamos, or "Together we Advance" designation for its extraordinary outreach to the Hispanic community.

The purpose of the CPM's visit was to meet with credit unions on this side of the border to examine how they manage credit and liquidity risk, as well as operational risks. Representing the CPM on this visit was Mario Galarraga, Jorge Gutierrez and Gonzalo Cervantes. The trio met with Energy Capital CU (Houston) on Thursday and Unity One FCU the following day. Cervantes explains the CPM's greatest challenge is its ability to measure and monitor credit risk in order to minimize losses.

"Loans represent about 70 percent of this institution's assets. We approve 40,000 loans a month, so is of great importance to develop a methodology to better manage this risk," Gutierrez says. Cervantes says operational risk is also very important in the lending area because there is a need to monitor the policies and procedures followed by personnel.

The CPM group also participated in three flagship ceremonies while in Texas:
* DATCU CU (Denton)
* Plus4 CU (Houston)
* Unity One FCU

The Juntos Avanzamos designation is given only to those Texas credit unions that demonstrate a long-term vision and strategy for serving the market. Speaking on behalf of the CPM, Galarraga says they are honored to have been offered the opportunity to participate in the raising of the flag at these institutions and commends the credit unions for their service to Hispanics. Vladamir Stark, CEO of Plus4 CU, says their goal is to be the Hispanic communities "bridge to financial independence." And Unity One FCU CEO Gary Williams assures his credit union is committed to serving this market and is here to stay.

Content taken from The Leaguer, a TCUL publication.