Carolina CUs kick off partnership with Mexico's Caja Morelia

GREENSBORO, N.C.—As part of a formal partnership between North Carolina credit unions and Mexico, 12 representatives from Caja Morelia, a credit union in Central Mexico, visited three state credit unions last week.

The visit and agreement is part of the World Council of Credit Unions' (WOCCU) International Partnership Program, which teams up credit unions and credit union organizations worldwide (Weekly Update Nov. 1).

"We look forward to forging close ties with Caja Morelia to share information, listen and learn," said John Radebaugh, North Carolina Credit Union League (NCCUL) president/CEO.

The host credit unions—Premier FCU, Greensboro; Truliant FCU, Winston-Salem; and Allegacy FCU, Winston-Salem—exchanged knowledge about information technology system, branches, points of service, and accounting systems.

Truliant FCU President/CEO Marc Schaefer noted that the information exchange goes both ways. "We can learn important lessons from Caja Morelia when it comes to serving the Hispanic community. We look forward to tapping knowledge about issues ranging from service delivery and marketing to branch design."

While last week's visit centered on the Greensboro and Winston-Salem area, future trips will include credit unions in other parts of the state, Radebaugh said. "We're also trying to put together a visit early next year to Mexico to visit with Caja Morelia," he added.

The partnership agreement showcased the cooperative nature of the credit union industry, Radebaugh said. "Our commitment to working together to share information and resources is an important difference from the banking industry. The visit and agreement show the level of commitment we have to working together—not only across the state, but also [around] the world," he concluded.

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.