WOCCU Board Member Named One of Poland's Most Influential People

Madison, WI—Poland's national weekly magazine, Przeglad (Review) named Grzegorz Bierecki, World Council of Credit Unions board member and CEO of National Association of Cooperative Savings and Credit Unions (NACSCU) as one of the most influential people in Poland. Ranked number nine on the prestigious list of the 101 Most Influential People in the country, Bierecki's leadership has brought credit unions to the forefront in Poland.

A testament to the importance of the credit union movement in Poland, Bierecki is rated higher on the list than people such as the Foreign Minister, the Spokesmen of the Upper and Lower Houses of the Parliament, the leader of the main opposition party (who appears several times a day on the news), the only Polish EU Commissioner, the President of the National TV, the Mayor of Warsaw and front page billionaires.

Pawel Grzesik, head of NACSCU's Warsaw office commented, "This indeed is good news personally for Grzegorz, but equally, if not more important, for all credit unions, members, employees and volunteers of SKOK (the credit union system) in Poland, and for our global credit union family."

Grzegorz Bierecki will be a keynote speaker at the World Credit Union Conference in Calgary, Canada, July 29-August 1, 2007.

World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) is the global trade association and development agency for credit unions. WOCCU 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. WOCCU 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.

WOCCU has implemented more than 275 technical assistance programs in 71 countries. Worldwide, 53,000 credit unions in 100 countries serve 188 million people. Learn more about WOCCU's impact around the world at www.woccu.org.