THE globe

GUELPH, Ontario--Over a six-month period spanning from August 2014 to February 2015, the Ontario Co-operative Association will be conducting extensive research on the social, economic and environmental impact of co-operatives and credit unions within the city of Guelph.

LONDON, England—London Capital CU here is reporting a 47% increase in membership this year through September, along with a 62% increase in loans to £5.6 million, and a 59% increase in savings.  The credit union now serves more than 10,000 people. Like many CUs in the U.K. it is positioned as a primary alternative to payday lenders. LCCU’s CEO, Martin Groombridge, told 24Dash.com that it estimates that members have saved £6.5m in interest, charges and fees by switching loans to the credit union. 

MADISON, Wis.— Elenita San Roque, CEO of the Asian Confederation of Credit Unions, Thailand, and Kristi Lozano, Financial Education Specialist at San Mateo Credit Union in California have been named winners of 2014 Network Empowerment Grants that will be used to improve the financial status of women in their communities. 

BLACKPOOL, England—Blackpool, Fyle and Wyre Credit Union has opened on Birley Street in this town’s financial district it found dozens of people waiting for it. Many are welcoming the CU as a means of fighting payday lenders, including the City Council, which helped to clear the way by a former travel agent’s office to provide the CU with space. The credit union is now operating near other providers, including Natwest, Barclays and HSBC, and had been operating out of offices inside Coastal Housing prior to the move. 

EDINBURGH, Scotland--The Scottish Parliament got a jump on International Credit Union Week and Day by celebrating it a week in advance. At a reception hosted by John Wilson, a member of the Scottish Parliament, and the Association of British Credit Unions, credit unions and stakeholders came tougher to celebrate the success of Scotland’s credit unions and to discuss ways to continue to flourish. 

WICKLOW, Ireland—In a case that has drawn national attention and involved credit unions, two directors of a private investigation company have pleaded guilty to “to consenting, conniving or neglecting to stop alleged breaches of the data protection laws” during 2013. The two directors of MCK Rentals, Ltd.,  Margaret Stuart and Wendy Martin, pleaded guilty at Bray District to one sample charge in relation to unlawfully passing information to Tullamore Credit Union, according to The Independent. MCK Rentals Ltd also pleaded guilty to five charges of obtaining access to personal data held by the Department of Social Protection and the Health Service Executive during the same period, without the authority of the organization's data controllers, and giving the data to someone else, the Independent reported.

GOLD COAST, Australia — The world's credit union movement leaders Rob Nicholls and Michael Koisen received World Council of Credit Unions' Distinguished Service Award (DSA), the industry's top global honor, at the 2014 World Credit Union Conference closing ceremonies in Gold Coast, Australia.

LONDON—The U.K.’s credit unions have joined with a political party in a plan to triple membership to three-million people over the next 10 years.

NASSAU, Bahamas—A sector stability report from the Central Bank of the Bahamas has found that the credit union delinquency ratio ended 2013 some two percentage points higher than international benchmarks.

DUBLIN, Ireland--A Dublin man has been charged with stealing more than €900,000 from a credit union over the past ten years.