Basel II Addressed at CUCC Conference

Toronto, Canada—World Council of Credit Unions, Inc. (WOCCU) senior manager of trade association services, Dave Grace, addressed Canadian credit union leaders as part of a Credit Union Central of Canada (CUCC) conference break out session on upcoming Bank for International Settlements (BIS) standards. The session explained what is new in the revision to the Basel Accord on capital adequacy.

Grace explained, "There is a growing interest— out of necessity." Grace spoke on WOCCU's actions with Basel Committee and the competitive impact of Basel II on credit unions.

"One thing that's interesting is 55% of the loan portfolio for Canadian credit unions is made up of home loans. If you look at where the big banks will benefit the most from Basel II, it will be in the reductions of capital for home loans. Banks will be able to hold much less capital than credit unions, simply because we don't have all of the data."

The panel also included Phillip Moore, general manager, Greater Vancouver Community Credit Union, who gave a history of Basel in British Colombia and the potential impact in his credit union. Moore doesn't see a large reduction in capital for his credit union—rather a relocation of capital.

Leon Bloom, partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP the third panel speakers focused on the impact of Basel for banks. Leon noted that Basel deals specifically with the unexpected losses and regulated capital needed for those, but sees the economic capital to be a bigger driving force in banks pricing.

Arthur Arnold, WOCCU president and CEO noted, "The new Basel II Accord will have an impact on credit unions all over the world, including Canada. We need to prepare for those changes and what it means for credit unions."

To learn more World Council's position on Basel visit the World Council website at www.woccu.org .

El Consejo Mundial de Cooperativas de Ahorro y Crédito es la asociación gremial y agencia de desarrollo para el sistema internacional de cooperativas de ahorro y crédito. El Consejo Mundial promueve el crecimiento sustentable de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito y otras cooperativas financieras en todo el mundo a fin de facultar a las personas para que mejoren su calidad de vida a través del acceso a servicios financieros asequibles y de alta calidad. El Consejo Mundial realiza esfuerzos de defensa activa en representación del sistema global de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito ante organizaciones internacionales y trabaja con gobiernos nacionales para mejorar la legislación y la regulación. Sus programas de asistencia técnica introducen nuevas herramientas y tecnologías para fortalecer el desempeño financiero de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito y profundizar su alcance comunitario.

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