Articles - Credit Union officials meeting in St. Lucia

The eighth annual meeting of credit unions from throughout the sub-region has started here with delegates being told they need to develop strategies that would allow the movement to withstand the global and economic crisis.

Director of the Caribbean Confederation of Credit Unions, Aaron Moses, told the 250 delegates that “the food crisis, the energy crisis, the financial crisis, the climate change crisis and the resultant unemployment crisis continues to challenge virtually every country in the world”.

He said it was against such a tough environment that the credit union movement” seeks to successfully navigate the turbulent sea of multiple challenges that characterize our current operating environment”.

Moses told the opening ceremony, attended by Governor Dame Pearlette Louisy and Prime Minister Stephenson King, that despite some insurmountable challenges, credit unions must be resilient in their pursuits and must develop strategic policies to guide them along a path of economic development and success.

He identified some major economic and industrial challenges that the credit unions in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) needed to consider in order to improve the current weak regulatory environment, the potential inherent risk of overregulation and the dominance of large regional financial institutions.

Moses said that while the credit union firmly entrenched within the OECS, it is, but a small player in the financial landscape.

He noted that the total asset base represents only five per cent or EC$1.17 billion (US$433 million) of the total financial system estimated at EC23.3 billion (US$8.6 billion) in the sub-region.

“Cooperatives play a major role in improving the socio-economic conditions of their members and local communities. They also serve as a catalyst for social cohesion and organisation given their people centered focus.”

In his address, Prime Minister King reiterated his government’s support for the credit union movement as a viable tool for economic development within the communities.

“A crisis of this magnitude calls for the pooling of resources to withstand these times,” said King while disclosing that the OECS credit union represents 20 per cent of the region’s financial market.