STOCKHOLM, Sweden––During the World CU Conference, WOCCU International Advocacy also hosted three additional breakout sessions, including one that explored how the United Nations declaring 2025 the International Year of Cooperatives is helping credit unions and other types of cooperatives advance their advocacy initiatives.
Erin O’Hern, WOCCU international advocacy and regulatory counsel, participated in the panel discussion, which also included Nina Schindler, CEO of the European Association of Cooperative Banks.
Schindler talked about how cooperative banks face many the same regulatory challenges as credit unions, WOCCU reported.
Adding to the Challenges
“We have the same anti-money laundering (challenges), cybersecurity as well on a European level, and just to add to that, financial inclusion,” said Schindler, who added that differentiating cooperative banks from commercial banks is a cyclical process thanks to constant changes in national-level governments.
WOCCU noted that O’Hern said just like cooperative banks, credit unions are always advocating for proportional regulatory treatment in comparison to large commercial banks.
“So, we are continuing to share that message but again, to Nina’s point, every two years you have to share to share the same message to make sure that they’re (standards) staying updated as new individuals and new representatives come in (to office),” said O’Hern.
Connect & Collaborate Sessions
New to the World Credit Union Conference this year was something WOCCU called a “huge hit” sessions called “Connect and Collaborate” that were networking workshops that allowed participants to engage in structured, focused discussions “designed to leverage collective expertise to address challenges within their own credit union roles,” according to WOCCU.
Divided into two groups for large and small credit unions, WOCCU said the workshops provided a platform for participants to share experiences, challenges, and insights, fostering collaborative problem-solving, while allowing them to build lasting professional relationships with individuals facing similar challenges.
“And we share almost the same issues,” said Farida Toma Haji Bashir, a board member with Boresha DT SACCO Society, Ltd. In Keyna, according to WOCCU. “Though we have those who have moved ahead in technology, while others are still coming up and struggling, we believe by this (session) bringing us together, sharing our ideas with people all over the world, it will help us build some of the up-and-coming credit unions.”
‘Good Conversations’
Added Pat Pierce, president and CEO of City & County Credit Union in Minnesota and chair of America’s Credit Unions’ board, “We had good conversations with people from Ireland, Sicredi from Brazil, a couple through the U.S. too. It was really good; I enjoyed it a lot. There were all sorts of topics—parental leave, succession planning, all those sorts of things.”
Pierce said the discussion definitely made him think differently about several issues.
