WASHINGTON–The International Credit Union Regulators’ Network (ICURN) joined with the World Bank, Rabobank and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor to hold a workshop to educate policymakers across the globe on the active role financial cooperatives play in advancing financial inclusion worldwide.
The workshop was hosted by the World Bank took place in advance of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring meetings.
“The purpose of the meeting is to engage high-level policymakers in a discussion specifically focused on financial cooperatives and how to deepen their outreach and financial inclusion,” said Dave Grace, ICURN executive director.
Grace led a discussion on regulation and supervision along with Martin Stewart, ICURN chairman and director of Banks, Building Societies & Credit Unions at the Bank of England, and John Mwaka, CEO of SACCO Societies Regulatory Authority in Kenya. The session called for special attention to the issue of proportionality of global standards when applied to financial cooperatives.
According to organizers, the workshop has been set to contribute to the development of a set of “guiding principles” to strengthen financial cooperatives and enhance applicable regulations, oversight and safety nets.
Other Issues Discussed
In January ICURN released the Guiding Principles for Effective Supervision of Financial Cooperatives as a framework for assessing the effectiveness of financial cooperatives’ supervisors. ICURN’s recommended Guiding Principles for Enhancing Governance of Financial Cooperatives have also been discussed at the workshop.
In addition, in Nairobi, Kenya, ICURN completed its first regional training attended by financial cooperative and microfinance supervisors from East Africa.
“This intensive three-week training program was offered in collaboration with the Kenya School of Monetary Studies,” said ICURN. “At the end of each week-long session supervisors completed a written exam to reinforce the training materials. Topics on the agenda included market conduct supervision, cybersecurity, and stress testing among others. In addition, supervisors wrote short research papers as it applies to their jurisdiction.”