MADISON, Wis.—The World Council of Credit Unions reported it established a new committee dedicated to identifying best practices and strategies credit unions around the globe can utilize in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to WOCCU, the COVID-19 Response Committee will seek to help credit unions mitigate the health and economic impacts of the crisis through advocacy, member support, digitization, community support, and business continuity.
Best practices and other resources will be shared with members and their credit unions on the WOCCU COVID-19 Resource Page, WOCCU said.
WOCCU said Board Director and National Credit Union Federation of Korea (NACUFOK) Chair and President Younsik Kim will chair the COVID-19 Response Committee.
NACUFOK has been a leader in South Korea’s COVID-19 response, providing loan support services, and donating US$ 1.76 million and 200,000 masks to help its member credit unions, WOCCU reported.
“The Korean credit union system is committed to keeping members and staff safe, while ensuring they can adapt and respond to the economic impacts of the pandemic,” said Kim. “We are also committed to helping credit unions around the world devise a comprehensive strategy to not only survive this crisis but thrive in the future.”
Other Members
The COVID-19 Response Committee will also be comprised of WOCCU board members Martha Durdin of Canada, Charles Murphy of Ireland and Board Chair Rafał Matusiak of Poland.
Other members of the Committee, representing regional and national credit union associations around the world, include:
- Greg Michlig, chief engagement officer, CUNA
- Elenita San Roque, CEO, Asian Confederation of Credit Unions
- George Ombado, CEO, African Confederation of Savings and Credit Cooperatives
- Adrian Rodriguez, CEO, Federation of Savings and Credit Cooperatives of Costa Rica
Bimonthly Webinars
The COVID-19 Response Committee will hold its first meeting on August 27, and its first in a series of bimonthly webinars on Sept. 17.
According to WOCCU, the first webinar, organized by NACUFOK, will include presentations on:
- The current status of COVID-19 and a global perspective on the outlook of the pandemic, by Dongil Ahn, visiting professor with the Yeonsei University Graduate School of Public Health, and former WHO representative in Cambodia and Lao PDR
- Present and future international work related to the virus, by Goosoon Kwon, professor of Global Development Cooperation at Seoul Cyber University