WOCCU Hires Paul Andrews to Lead International Advocacy Efforts

MADISON, Wis.—World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) is pleased to announce Paul Andrews as its new Vice President of International Advocacy—putting him in charge of advocating on behalf of the global credit union and financial cooperative movement at the international level.

Andrews brings to WOCCU a vast amount of experience in financial regulations. He’s previously worked for the:

• CFA Institute, where he oversaw its research, advocacy and standards functions.
• International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), where he revamped the organization’s strategic direction and oversaw the development of numerous global standards, recommendations and principles.
• Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), where he directed international engagements and worked closely with key regulators and regulatory bodies worldwide, including IOSCO.
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where he worked in the Division of Market Regulation and the Office of the General Counsel.

“If you’re going to effectively advocate on behalf of credit unions at the international level, having relationships with those who set the standards is critical for success. Paul is very familiar with the key international regulatory bodies, and I have every confidence he will continue our strong track record of reducing regulatory burdens for credit unions in the areas of prudential regulation, anti-money laundering, taxation and accounting standards before they arrive at the national level. Ensuring our member credit unions and financial cooperatives face reasonable compliance burdens is key to growing our movement and further expanding financial inclusion,” said Elissa McCarter LaBorde, WOCCU President and CEO.

Andrews will use his experience to lead WOCCU’s advocacy work in front of organizations such as the:

• Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.
• Financial Action Task Force.
• International Accounting Standards Board.
• Financial Stability Board.
• European Union.
• United Nations.
• G20.

In today’s financial regulatory environment, national regulators often have little discretion to deviate from the international standards once they are finalized by those bodies.

"It is imperative that member-owned, financial cooperatives across the world have the ability to grow their financial inclusion efforts and reach more underserved populations without facing undue compliance issues caused by overburdensome regulations. I am pleased to help secure a future where those opportunities exist by leading World Council of Credit Unions’ International Advocacy team and working with our members to ensure they have a strong voice in front of the international standard setting bodies,” said Andrews.

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 300+ programas de asistencia técnica en 90 países. A nivel mundial, 74,634 cooperativas de ahorro y crédito en 104 países atienden a 411 million de personas. Obtenga más información sobre el impacto global del Consejo Mundial en www.woccu.org.