VANCOUVER, B.C.–With the harborside location of this year’s World CU Conference, WOCCU’s CEO used water skiing to note there is no doubt credit unions are navigating some rough waters, but they are also better positioned for skiing forward than they may realize.
WOCCU CEO Elissa McCarter Laborde also announced several new initiatives by the association during her remarks at the conference.
According to McCarter Laborde, the difficult environment is an opportunity to meet those challenges and to “show our commitment to a shared purpose of putting people over profit.”
“That is the credit union way, and so while we have these challenges we have an opportunity together to prove this unique business model,” she said.
McCarter Laborde said she sees three distinct trends that deserve attention.
Trend #1: Hyper-Globalization
“Really, since the Second World War and certainly in the last 10 years, we have seen the promise of global trade and shared economic interests and seamless digital connectivity that should unify and contribute to peace rather than division,” said McCarter-Laborde. “Instead, we increasingly find ourselves in a world that is divided, that is undermining this belief that a global rising tide would lift all.
“For that reason, I so firmly believe that in these uncertain times our global credit union movement is more relevant, is more needed than ever. So, when I look at these three distinct trends, what are we facing?”
One response, she said, is to look only to the limits on growth due to limited resources, different regulatory schemes (that in some cases are “unfair” to credit unions), and growing regulatory burdens.
Reason for Optimism
But there is another response, according to McCarter Laborde.
“When you look in the aggregate we are a massive global network of over 87,000 financial institutions, with three-and-a-half trillion dollars in assets, serving almost 400 million people as our members,” said McCarter Laborde. “Fifty-percent of those members are in developing countries where a majority of members have small businesses. They are entrepreneurs. They are driving local economic growth and jobs.”
Even through the pandemic, reminded McCarter Laborde, credit unions have still averaged 5% asset growth and 9% membership growth, figures that are double those averages in some markets.
“While we have limitations, we also must uniquely recognize the untapped potential of serving members and reaching members,” said McCarter Laborde. “How are you finding those open spaces, those white spaces, to find people that are still underserved by the banking community? Because that is truly where the potential and the unique model of credit unions shine in this era…”
Trend #2:Inflation
Inflation is affecting every market in the world, noted McCarter Laborde, putting pressure on the financial futures of citizens and businesses everywhere. For credit unions, inflation has hit borrower capacity, made margins thinner and had other effects.
It has forced CUs to become even more flexible, she said, especially when members have extreme needs.
“Credit unions are the only ones lending in Ukraine to farmers,” McCarter Laborde noted. “What can be learned from the innovators and how do we continue this need for CUs to lean in as others pull back?”
In answering those questions, credit unions build trust, said McCarter Laborde.
Trend # 3. The Digital Divide
The WOCCU CEO called it “alarming” that three-billion people on earth are disconnected from the Internet (as seen in the graphic, below).
“In this age of digitization moving at such a fast pace, it is imperative for credit unions to be part of bridging the gap for those who risk really being left behind,” said McCarter Laborde. “That is bringing so many of us more convenience, safety and security and access. When we survey our global membership, digitization consistently ranks is the top three; sometimes, it’s the top one (area of focus).”
That disconnect, said McCarter Laborde, exacerbates issues such as payments.
“How do we ensure that credit union accounts are interoperable in the digital ecosystems that are evolving so rapidly? I don't fully understand all the intricacies of regenerative AI, but it is certain that the race for knowledge and resources has intensified, making it even more important that we as actors working deeply in these communities are part of bridging some of that divide.”
New Initiatives
McCarter Laborde said WOCCU will be launching several new initiatives, including a digital innovation hub, that will seek to “convene talent and technology partners and tech solutions that can test some of these barriers we see in multiple markets. We can only overcome many of these challenges by coinvesting and testing with trusted partners who will help us to solve for these gaps.”
In addition, McCarter Laborde said WOCCU is also preparing to launch a Climate Influencers Network.
WOCCU Initiatives
Finally, McCarter Laborde said WOCCU will continue to focus on three areas:
- Digitization
- Sustainability
- Resilience
“These are three of the key themes that we at World Council see driving the future of the global movement,” said McCarter Laborde.
The Future Drivers
McCarter Laborde emphasized that young professionals in credit union are “critical to the conversations we need to have along this journey.”
“No matter your country, as a young person you may see these disparities and the burden of responsibility…and throw your hands up,” she said. “But you can do something. We have this massive network that allows us to act in big and small ways--at a very local and in global ways-- in trying to create financial systems that work for everyone.”
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