AUCKLAND, N.Z—The New Zealand Association of Credit Unions has won a court victory allowing it to change its name to “Co-op Money NZ.” The association found itself in court after the Co-operative Bank filed for a temporary injunction following a June announcement by the NZACU that it intended to change its name.
Scoop.nz.co quoted NZACU CEO Henry Lynch as saying the court victory, in the country’s high court, was a win for cooperative principles and democratic rights. Lynch recently appeared in a video on CUToday.info during International Credit Union Week that can be found here.
“The Co-operative Bank does not have a monopoly on the terms 'co-operative’ or ‘co-op’, and we were determined to defend the right to use these words not just for ourselves, but for all New Zealand co-operatives,” Lynch told Scoop.co.nz.
There are 20 credit unions in New Zealand representing 200,000 members and more than $1.4-billion in assets.