LVIV, Ukraine–The executive director of a credit union in Ukraine is crediting assistance from the World Council and the fact its members are borrowing again for helping it to regain its footing and remain open as this country remains under attack from Russia.
Like everyone else in the country, Volodymz Sydozovskyy said Anisia Credit Union has been deeply affected by the war that is now more than 500 days old.
Stepping Up to Help
During a visit to the CU’s headquarters, which are in a building that dates to the 1300s in the city’s old quarter, he related a number of stories of how the credit union’s own members and employees have been providing help to refugees. One person had 18 people in his apartment building. Others helped refugees on their journeys to the country.
It also has a number of members who are in the Ukrainian army, and one member was recently killed by a Russian missile that struck this city just a week ahead of CUToday.info’s visit. Ten people were killed in that attack.
The credit union is small by U.S. standards, with assets of 50 million hryvnia, or $1.363 million at the exchange rate on the day Sydozovskyy was interviewed. Anisia Credit Union has 8,000 members.
Lending Activity Stops
“At the beginning of the war credit activity stopped almost completely and people withdrew their deposits,” said Sydozovskyy, adding that one ongoing concern, which will sound familiar to credit unions in other parts of the globe, has been strains on liquidity.
Sydozovskyy credited assistance from the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) and its philanthropic arm, the Worldwide Foundation (WFCU), for its assistance in helping it through the difficult times. Anisia CU, for example, received financial assistance that paid loan interest and paid the salaries of employees.
“We are very thankful for all the help,” Sydozovskyy stated several times.
Participant in CAP Project
Anisia Credit Union is a participant in the USAID/WOCCU Credit for Agriculture Project (CAP), a project funded by USAID aimed at strengthening the credit union sector in Ukraine to improve the quality of the financial services and products offered to farmers and agribusinesses in rural areas.
Anisia CU was a participant in the Fuel Disbursement Program, through which WFCU said it tapped its Ukrainian Credit Union Displacement Fund to purchase $100,000 worth of diesel from Ukrainian national fuel station chain OKKO, and provided a total of 1,329 free fuel coupons to Ukraine’s small- and medium-sized farmers who took out agricultural loans at credit unions that are partners in CAP.
That was one of several distributions of such fuel assistance, with additional assistance to purchase generators for Ukrainians where the power infrastructure is constantly under attack.
‘We are Well Trained’
“We have a stable situation, thanks to CAP and the Worldwide Foundation,” said Sydozovskyy. “We also have a good reputation with members. They are a good source of credit and they are borrowing. We have been well-trained by the Americans to give credit to people who have good credit.”
He said members have been borrowing for everything, including small business loans, for home repairs, for appliances and more.
Sydozovskyy explained Anisia CU’s field of membership is very broad and extends beyond Lviv and into the surrounding rural regions, which is why it also makes loans to farmers.
He added it does offer services online, as it has been the only way to work with members first during Covid and now during the war.
A Missile Strikes
With the city still on edge from the missile strikes, Sydozovskyy acknowledged the fears of everyone in Lviv over the ongoing threat.
While it appeared the streets were full of people and business was thriving, Sydozovskyy said that prior to the war those filling the cafes and shops were tourists from outside the country; today the only visitors it gets are those from other parts of Ukraine.
Many people from eastern Ukraine have fled to cities in the west such as Lviv, and the credit union has seen a few new members from among the internal refugees. But making loans to them is difficult, as they often have only temporary IDs or no documents at all after fleeing their homes, Sydozovskyy said.
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