Caja Popular Mexicana Annual Meeting

League Representatives Attend Annual Meeting Of Mexico's Largest CU

L-R: WOCCU-Project Director Mario Galarraga; Confederation of Financial Cooperatives of the Mexican Republic Chairman of the Board and CEO of Alianza CU Federation Tomás Carrizales; and League President and CEO Bill Cheney at the 2006 CPM Annual Meeting.

California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues President and CEO Bill Cheney; Vice President of Business Services Sylvia Fath; and League Diversity Committee members, Arrowhead CU Board Chairman Marie Alonzo and Printing Industries CU President and CEO Rick Dockery attended the 2006 Caja Popular Mexicana (CPM) Annual Meeting, held April 21-22 in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico.

More than 400 participants attended the two- day annual meeting that also featured local and international speakers. Cheney was an honorary guest and speaker. In an address to attendees, he reiterated the League's continued support and commitment to assisting CPM through the International Partnership currently in existence. He also stated, "The International Partnership between the California and Texas Credit Union Leagues, CPM, and World Council of Credits Unions was recently honored with the Herb Wegner Award, which is the most prestigious award granted by the U.S. credit union movement - a testimony to the success of the International Partnership and what can be accomplished when credit unions work together."

The Mexican cooperative was established in 1951 and today is the largest credit union in Latin America with more than $1 billion in assets. In the last five years, CPM has experienced phenomenal growth: membership has soared from 400,000 to 970,000 members, and CPM currently has more than 200,000 youth accounts - serving more than 1 million people total. CPM has also expanded to 333 branches in 22 states. In addition, CPM recently converted all of its branches to the new FISERV IT system, which will allow the credit union to offer more products and better services to its members.

The panel of honorary guest speakers at the 2006 CPM Annual Meeting.

CPM is committed to ensuring the financial strength and stability of its members, elected officials, management team, and staff. CPM encourages members to actively participate in the cooperatives' governance by offering a thorough financial literacy program. In addition, members who wish to participate as board representatives must complete an extensive five-year training program before serving on the board. The credit union's philosophy is that members who are well- educated in finances have the ability to personally build strong and viable financial futures for themselves and their communities.

Printing Industries CU President and CEO Rick Dockery commented on his visit with CPM, "I was seriously moved by how deeply they care for their members and how much of an impact they make in the individual lives of so many people."

World Council of Credit Unions is the global trade association and development agency for credit unions. World Council promotes the sustainable development of credit unions and other financial cooperatives around the world to empower people through access to high quality and affordable financial services. World Council advocates on behalf of the global credit union system before international organizations and works with national governments to improve legislation and regulation. Its technical assistance programs introduce new tools and technologies to strengthen credit unions' financial performance and increase their outreach.

World Council has implemented more than 290 technical assistance programs in 71 countries. Worldwide, 51,000 credit unions in 100 countries serve 196 million people. Learn more about World Council's impact around the world at www.woccu.org.