WOCCU Seeks Input on Principles of Credit Union Governance

Madison, WI – World Council of Credit Unions, Inc. (WOCCU) has posted its newly developed Principles of Credit Union Governance for comment, welcoming input on this draft version. WOCCU has developed the principles to address the challenges of organizational power within credit unions at three separate levels. These Principles have already been circulated to the Chief Executive Officers of WOCCU members for review and comment. WOCCU now seeks input from credit unions, members of credit unions and the general public.

The Principles of Credit Union Governance consist of the following levels: external governance, internal governance and individual governance. External governance represents the responsibility of the Board of Directors and management to members and the public at large. It includes areas such as full financial disclosure and transparency, ensuring safeguards and adequate oversight, the need for independent external audits, and compliance with external legal and regulatory requirements. Internal governance addresses the role of delegates representing members in the General Assembly and the election of the Board of Directors and committees; it defines the responsibilities and accountability of the General Assembly, the Board, management and staff. Finally, individual governance deals with individual Board and committee members on issues such as integrity, code of conduct, conflict of interest, and qualifications.

In December of 2003, WOCCU added Good Governance best practices principles as the fourth mission of WOCCU, with the goal of identifying, analyzing, and sharing such practices with the international credit union community. Although all organizations must address the issue of governance, credit unions, as cooperative institutions, face different governance demands than banks and other for-profit institutions, because they must also meet the needs of their members, who are also owners.

Please direct all comments regarding WOCCU'S Principles of Credit Union Governance to Karen Cak Niederkohr at kcniederkohr @woccu.org by November 15, 2004.

To view WOCCU'S Principles of Credit Union Governance, click here.

To learn more about Good Governance, click here.

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.

El Consejo Mundial ha implementado 290 programas de asistencia técnica en 71 países. A nivel mundial, 51,000 cooperativas de ahorro y crédito en 100 países atienden a 196 millones de personas. Obtenga más información sobre el impacto global del Consejo Mundial en www.woccu.org.