Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I15) oPiNioN CeLeBrAtiNg 100 YeArS , SPeCiAL CeNteNNiAL editioN 100 Years and Counting: Looking Back to Look Ahead A century of service. A century of commitment. A century of cooperative action. The first century of credit unions has been nothing short of inspirational, and the second century should be no different. I am thrilled to be writing in this special 100th anniversary issue of Credit Union Times. Having spent 11 years at the publication, I respect its objectivity, thoroughness and willingness to tackle the tough issues. In my book, those are the tenets of great journalism. This publication has a history of nailing all of them. I have always said that good news reporting is like looking through a very clean window. Look out and report what you see. Unfortunately, in today’s world of journalism, many of those windows have a lot of dirt on the “left” or on the “right” Paul Gentile is presithat muddies the reporting. dent/CEO of the New Jersey Credit Union That’s not what it’s about. A League. fun fast fact I like to tout is that Alphonse Desjardins, one of the fathers of the North American credit union movement, was himself a journalist. (See, it used to be and can still be an honorable profession. Certainly, the journalists at Credit Union Times have that honor.) Back to credit unions. What can you say about where we’ve been and where we’re going in a short piece like this? I’ll leave the “where we’ve been” to the historians of the movement, and there are many. My focus is on “where we’re going.” Are we headed back to our roots? On this continent, our roots are in Canada. Look at today’s Canadian credit union system. It’s much more compact and aggregated. The U.S. movement is getting more compact, but it doesn’t have the structural aggregation of Canada. It’s frustrating and inspiring all in one, but I believe U.S. credit unions could be the biggest catalyst to bringing faith back to the financial system in America during these uncertain times. The problem is we’re still too limited. Let’s start with capital. From the days of Desjardins to now, our sole source of raising capital is retained earnings. That fact alone is startling. Startling because credit unions have been so successful while being so limited. It’s like the less-talented athlete who has to work twice as hard to compete with the naturals of the world. The fact that we haven’t been able to push through capital reform that allows credit unions to utilize supplemental capital, except for low-income credit unions, is a constant reminder of the work we need to do. Why can’t we allow our members, our employer groups, our fellow credit unions or our employees to invest in the credit union? We don’t need the public capital markets like banks utilize. We just want access to our core groups. That would make the movement even more cooperative, not dilute it like some believe. Why can’t we have nonvoting shares? One member/one vote isn’t in jeopardy because of supplemental capital. Congress and regulators allowed derivative products that didn’t have the right “financial science” behind them flourish, yet supplemental capital for credit unions, a very simple concept, still eludes us. It’s time for Congress and the regulators to get moving. Let’s not let politics get in the way of doing what’s right for America– giving credit unions, who have never cost the taxpayers a dime, the tools they need to continue to do the good work they do. There’s no truly legitimate argument against it. Our 100-year track record is our argument for it. The times we are living in represent the argument for doing it now. Let us help the country even more. What else do we need? Well, we certainly need riskbased capital, but I won’t waste time on that, we all www.cutimes.com know the importance of it. Expanded member business lending is critical so we can help small businesses grow and flourish. Again, another no-brainer. But how about structural advantages? Mutual savings banks can utilize a holding company structure. Credit unions should be able to do the same in some fashion. It would allow us to bring more products and services to members of credit unions that are struggling or have not yet evolved their product lines. All these things could be key to giving credit unions their best shot at providing consumers with another 100 years of low-cost, high-quality banking services from organizations that have no outside interests to please. But whether or not we get all of this, our true challenge continues to be one of awareness. Capital changes do not mean a thing if we do not do a better job of raising the public’s credit union IQ. More people need to understand what a credit union is and why they should be part of one. Membership growth has to be our emphasis as we turn into our second century. Our own members need to understand what a great thing they are part of. Awareness represents growth and defense. If we are ever in a life-or-death situation, like some believe we are in now because of the potential for consolidating financial regulators, our membership can be our best defense. Members who know how good they have it would be outraged by changes that would threaten the credit union charter. Here’s to another 100 years of credit union growth. From Desjardins and Filene on, we have had many great leaders who have paved the way for today’s credit unions. Great leadership is even more important today as a mature movement looks to stay on track. Finally, I commend Credit Union Times for its clean window reporting that I and all its faithful readers expect and appreciate. Your next 100 years look bright! global CU development is a Bright Horizon in dark times By all accounts, these are dark times for the global economy, and credit unions are not immune from the ill winds that blow. But in the darkest of times, the member-owned financial cooperative model has demonstrated its advantages for people in need. And we’ve seen it succeed time and again through the work we’ve done and the global successes we’ve had as the World Council of Credit Unions. In its 100th anniversary year, the U.S. movement has a right to be proud not only of the way it has evolved with the times but also of the level of service its credit unions provide to members through both the brightest and darkest of times. Indeed, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Federal Credit Union Act into law in 1934, his purpose was to make credit available and promote thrift to people suffering in the throes of the Great Depression. The World council also has reason to be proud of all it has accomplished since its incorporation on Jan. 1, 1971. We’ve supported the creation and strengthening of successful credit union systems around the globe that, in turn, have thrived in their service to members. Credit unions have always been part of the greater global movement. I’m proud to say that the World council has given that movement greater reach and strength than ever before. The World council can trace its roots back to the 1950s, when credit union pioneer Roy Bergengren, then president/CEO of CUNA, asked for the formation of an outreach effort to assist credit union development outside of North America, particularly in countries whose citizens were plagued by usurious loan rates and other unethical practices. Early credit union pioneers sought out ways to establish credit unions where the need was most evident, and from those efforts the World council was formed. With each success, the organization and the global movement have continued to grow. Part of this success has to do with the World council’s twin roles. We serve as a trade association for the world’s credit union movements, providing a conduit for organizations like CUNA in the U.S. and Credit Union Central of Canada to meet regularly with their colleagues in emerging systems such as the National Association of Co-operative Savings & Credit Unions, Poland’s credit union trade group, and the Confederação Interestadual das Cooperativas Ligadas ao Sicredi, our member organization in Brazil, to name just a few. Together, these organizations have shared methodologies and techniques in the true sense of credit union cooperation. And the benefits each has realized in working with their peers across borders have been significant in improving their member service at home. We’re also out there on the front lines ensuring that the credit union voice is heard at the global decision-making bodies. With all the good we do in the world, we believe credit unions deserve a seat at those tables, and we’re fighting for it. The World council’s other role is that of international development agency. In fact, World council’s 1971 incorporation followed a period of independent development activities by credit union systems in the U.S., Canada and Australia and was the result of a vote of confidence among national credit union associations throughout the world in Pete Crear is president/ recognizing the importance CEO of the World of a united effort. Our role Council of Credit Unions. since that time has grown, thanks to funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other public and private sector organizations, which have helped World council provide greater support to developing countries and their credit union systems worldwide. WOCCU Supporters, a charitable group to which many U.S. credit unions, their staff members and volunteers belong, has also significantly helped our growth and has been responsible in great part for our continued ability to serve members worldwide. Our development efforts have met with significant success over the years, helping systems such as the one in Poland evolve into self-sustaining entities that serve a growing number of people who need access to save and affordable financial services. The Polish system, in fact, is a true credit union success story. It is an http://www.cutimes.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I1) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I2) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I3) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I4) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I5) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I6) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I7) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I8) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I9) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I10) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I11) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I12) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I13) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I14) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I15) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I16) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I17) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I18) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I19) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I20) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I21) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I22) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I23) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I24) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I25) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I26) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I27) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I28) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I29) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I30) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I31) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I32) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I33) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I34) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I35) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I36) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I37) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I38) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I39) Credit Union Times - Centennial Edition - (Page I40)
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.