Brazil and Florida meet to discuss prospective partnership

Guy Hood, President of Florida Credit Union League, welcomes the Brazilian delegates to Florida.

On July 25, 2007, delegates from the Brazilian credit union movement, SIDCREDI, travelled to Tallahassee and Jacksonville, FL to meet with the Florida Credit Union League (FCUL) about prospective plans for a partnership through World Council of Credit Unions’ (WOCCU) International Partnerships Program. The delegates were on their way to the World Credit Union Conference in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

On the first day, Guy Hood, President of FCUL, along with a few other branch managers welcomed the delegates at their headquarters in Tallahassee. The opportunity allowed for the two credit union movements to familiarize themselves with each other and share common challenges and successes. The discussions particularly focused on the challenges of lobbying in today’s world and dealing with politics.

The delegates also had the privilege to get to know Southeast Corporate very intimately. The group was able to tour both their Jacksonville and their Tallahassee offices. At the Tallahassee office, the group also met with William Birdwell, Southeast Corporate CEO and President to discuss the services offered by Southeast Corporate, such as share draft processing, virtual deposit, and a corporate synergies service. The group was specifically interested in the advanced IT system and Southeast’s ability to offer low cost investment opportunities to the credit unions.

At the Jacksonville office, the group was given an in-depth presentation on all of Southeast Corporate’s services led by Gisli Magnusson, Member Relations Manager of Southeast Corporate. The presenters included many of Southeast Corporate’s Vice-Presidents and Directors. The delegates were particularly fascinated by the check processing system and how the images are sent electronically.

The group was also able to visit Community First Credit Union of Florida and visit one of its local branches.

The delegates left Florida with a new hope of an international partnership between the two entities. There are plans in the works for FCUL delegates to visit SIDCREDI in Brazil in late March 2008.

The delegates included: Graziela Reis Bogorni, Valdir da Costa Silva, Luiz Emídio Dantas, João Carlos Spenthof, Sadi Beledelli, Ricardo Ce, Alcenor Pagnussatt, Manfred Alfonso Dasenbrock, Luis Roberto Baggio, José Olírio Alberton, Jair Kauffman, Orlando Muffato, Anildo Pedro Broch, and Ciro Bavaresco. The group included delegates from 4 different Brazilian states and numerous different SIDCREDI branches. Most of the delegates are vice-presidents or presidents of a branch.

Written by Josh Fetting, International Partnerships Program Specialist

Colorado shares shared branching expertise with Ecuador

(Pictured is (l to r): Backrow: Victor Corro,International Partnerships Manager WOCCU; Jose Guillen, Cooperativa San Jose; Josh Fetting, Program Specialist WOCCU; Doug Burke, President of CUSN; Oscar Guzman, WOCCU Ecuador Project; Santiago Saavedra, WOCCU Ecuador Project; Steve Schaefer, Program Manager WOCCU Ecuador Project. Front row: Rosemary Paddock, Manager of Operations CUSN; Laura Pizzarelli, Vice-President of Corporation Relations CUSC; and Janet Meyers, Boardmember of Colorado Credit Union League Foundation.) Photo taken at RTC Conference in Quito, Ecuador.

On July 9th, Laura Pizzarelli, CUSC; Doug Burke, CUSN; Rosemary Paddock, CUSN; and Janet Meyers, CCULF, traveled to Ecuador to observe operations at three credit unions and attend a conference on shared branching. The four representatives spent the first two days traveling throughout Ecuador’s beautiful countryside while on their way to various Ecuadorian cooperatives. Colorado’s Credit Union Service Network has been partnered with one of Ecuador’s credit union networks, RTC, through World Council of Credit Union’s International Partnership program since 1999.

The group made their first stop in Chimbo, a small town outside of Riobamba. There, they were able to view and discuss the credit union’s operations with José Guillén, Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito San José CEO. Burke was able to assess changes that had taken place in that credit union since his last visit in mid-2006. San José had increased security and added air-conditioning in its IT department.

Afterwards, the group made their way to Riobamba to visit Accion Rural Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito and speak with its CEO, Mauricio Rivera. Rivera pointed out many unique features of this credit union, including their ability to provide micro-enterprise loans to Ecuador’s rural population. Of Accion Rural’s members, 93% live in rural areas.

After spending a night in Riobamba, the representatives had the privilege to get to know one of Ecuador’s more cultural cities, Cuenca. In Cuenca, they made a stop at Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Juventud Ecuatoriana Progresista.

On the last day, the representatives were invited to give a presentation on their findings and suggestions at a credit union network conference in Quito, where 18 other Ecuadorian credit unions were in attendance. The theme of the conference was shared branching. The group had many good suggestions, such as implementing a “secret shopper” program, forming a national marketing committee, and providing standardized training procedures.

At the end of the presentation, an open forum was conducted to allow a real time exchange of information between the Ecuadorian credit unions and the U.S. credit unions. The end of the conference brought about many compliments from both sides of the table and many wishes for a continuance of the collaboration between these to movements for years to come.

Written by Josh Fetting, International Partnerships Program Specialist

Maryland & D.C. League lend Nicaragua expertise on Nominating Committee

On July 8th, John Link, Treasurer of Agriculture Federal Credit Union, and Michael Di Gennaro, a volunteer at Federal Reserve Board Federal Credit Union, both from Maryland & District of Columbia Credit Union Association (MDDCCUA) made a visit to Nicaragua’s Central Service Organization (CSO). The objective of their trip was to assist CSO with the process of forming a Nominating Committee and give a few pointers on governance. MDDCCUA and CSO have been partnered through World Council of Credit Union’s International Partnership program since 2002.

The big challenge here was finding a way to overcome Nicaragua’s unique credit union regulations. The pay-off would be helping to tackle one of the Nicaraguan credit union movement’s biggest problems with their governance. Due to some issues with governance, Nicaraguan credit unions typically experience high delinquencies and losses. Inadequate oversight has led to high expenditures in fixed assets, such as buildings and has resulted in a loss of capital.

Link and Di Gennaro had three days to gather information and construct a presentation to help Nicaraguan credit unions in the process of nominating qualified candidates for their boards. The presentation was presented in front of a group of credit unions. The first presentation was focused on “first principles” governance with a main message of “Boards Govern, Managers Manage, and Members Own.” The presentations also covered everything from the history of credit unions, volunteer and staff roles, and, of course, the Nominating Committee.

Link and Di Gennaro felt that they had reached the goal of helping the Nicaraguans overcome their misconceptions of the Nominating Committee and had given them a model from which they could produce positive results. However, the Nicaraguan movement must still form their concepts in order to overcome their unique institutional barrier.

Written by Josh Fetting, International Partnerships Program Specialist