Representatives of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the United States' credit union regulatory agency, conducted two June briefings on how to charter, regulate and supervise credit unions, implement support programs for small credit unions and build a deposit insurance system for representatives of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) and Ukraine's Deposit Guarantee Fund (DGF).

Participants welcomed the remarks of NCUA Chairman Todd Harper, who expressed his heartfelt support for the people of Ukraine during its war with Russia.

“The NCUA stands in support of Ukraine in its fight for independence and self-determination; for it is nothing short of a fight for peace, dignity, and justice, and a fight for Ukraine’s survival as a sovereign nation,” said Harper.

The NCUA Chair went on to stress the important role credit unions will play in that fight.

“Credit unions operate under a different business model than banks when providing financial products and services to consumers. As a result, credit unions require a specialized regulatory framework, one that differs in several ways from the banking model, to ensure that they can continue to fulfill their ‘people helping people’ cooperative mission. This is especially true for the smallest of credit unions,” said Harper.

The key principle stressed by all NCUA experts was to consider the size, complexity and financial condition of credit unions in the governance system, as well as to support the smallest institutions, who serve members of modest means.

NBU Deputy Governor Sergiy Nikolaychuk and DGF Deputy Managing Director Olha Bilay also made presentations focused on the war’s ongoing impact on Ukraine's credit union market. The representatives also expressed their appreciation of the efforts and assistance World Council of Credit Unions' Credit for Agriculture Producers’ (CAP) Project has provided to the Ukrainian credit union system. The CAP Project, funded by USAID, has also engaged international experts that help the regulators support Ukrainian credit unions now and as they prepare for rebuilding and modernizing following the war.

As a next step, a separate briefing for the DGF staff is being planned for July, which will focus on the credit union share insurance procedures prescribed by NCUA.