Ukrainian Parliament Approves New WOCCU-advocated Credit Union Law
Passage of draft will allow for modernization and strengthening of credit union sector
June 08, 2021
MADISON, Wis.—World Council of Credit Unions’ (WOCCU) International Advocacy and International Projects’ teams scored a major victory this week when the Ukrainian Parliament overwhelmingly approved the first reading of a new draft law on credit unions. The law must now pass a second reading as the final step for adoption. If adopted, the law would lay the foundation for updating the country’s legal framework for credit union operations and build a level playing field for credit unions in the financial services market.
Members of Parliament (MPs), with support from the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), developed the language for the Draft Law on Credit Unions after extensive analysis, feedback and advocacy input from WOCCU International Advocacy and WOCCU International Projects’ Credit for Agriculture Producers (CAP) Project, a USAID-funded activity in Ukraine.
Specifically, the draft law:
- expands the list of financial services credit unions can provide to their members.
- improves licensing and corporate governance requirements for credit unions.
- allows for increases in the levels of capitalization and stress resilience of credit unions to strengthen the reliability of the sector and consumer confidence in it.
- allows for remote annual general meetings (AGM), in lieu of in-person gatherings.
WOCCU International Advocacy, the CAP Project and other stakeholders will now work with parliamentarians to prepare necessary amendments for the draft law’s second reading and final passage, ensuring a legal framework that will help the Ukrainian credit union sector thrive.
This document was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by WOCCU for the USAID/Credit for Agriculture Producers (CAP) Project in Ukraine, agreement number AID-121-LA-16-00002.
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World Council of Credit Unions is the global trade association and development platform 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 300+ technical assistance programs in 90 countries. Worldwide, 82,758 credit unions in 97 countries serve 404 million people. Learn more about World Council's impact around the world at www.woccu.org.
Organization: World Council of Credit Unions
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