STOCKHOLM, Sweden—More than 2,000 credit union professionals from nearly 60 countries celebrated the start of the 2025 World Credit Union Conference (WCUC) with an opening ceremony that included the annual parade of flags, twelve breakout sessions and the announcement of a new strategy for World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU).
WOCCU Board Chair Michael Lawrence welcomed attendees to the 20th anniversary edition of WCUC and addressed some “new realities” for the organization, which lost most of its international development funding with the dismantling of USAID earlier this year.
“Politician and motivational speaker Les Brown once said, ‘when something bad happens, there are three choices: you can let it define you, let it destroy you or you can let it strengthen you.’ In this vein, WOCCU immediately pivoted to do what we do best and strengthened the organization to serve our members and advocate for the fair treatment of credit unions in front of international standard setting bodies,’” said Lawrence, who also serves as CEO of Australia's Customer Owned Banking Association.
The remarks came just days after the WOCCU board of directors approved a new three-year strategy that prioritizes:
- A more proactive approach to International Advocacy
- Improved services for WOCCU members
- Strengthening the organization’s role as a global leader in cooperative finance
WOCCU International Advocacy Leads Three Breakout Sessions
WOCCU’s International Advocacy team hosted three breakout sessions on regulatory issues.
WOCCU Vice President of International Advocacy Paul Andrews moderated a panel discussion that focused on navigating new developments in anti-money laundering (AML), financial crime prevention and sanctions.
All the panelists agreed that money laundering and financial crimes have largely become borderless and are evolving rapidly thanks to technology, which means the types of financial crimes and risks associated with them are moving much faster than the regulations.
Carrie Hunt, Chief Advocacy Officer for America’s Credit Unions, said the United States’ AML Act of 2020 is a perfect example of that. Five years later, it has yet to be implemented.
“Ultimately, we’re in this little bit of a stalled blackout period where we don’t have anything finalized because they’re still trying to dovetail what the functional regulators think needs to happen and what, ultimately, (U.S.) Treasury—which is the overarching regulator—thinks need to happen relative to these measures,” said Hunt.