Successful summit, says League

With the hosting of a successful summit behind them, the sub-region’s credit union leagues and affiliates have indicated that they are now focused on the journey ahead.{{more}}

At a press conference on Tuesday, August 25th, to bring the 7th annual OECS credit union summit to a close, officials indicated that attention will now be placed on the various recommendations that were made during the summit, which took place here from August 20th to 22nd.

General Manager of the Community First Cooperative Credit Union of Antigua Ingrid O’Marde listed a number of areas that she said emerged as key issues during the plenary sessions of the summit.

Among the recommendations mentioned was the need for unions and leagues to commit to sound governance, which O’Marde said is important.

“The whole issue of governance within the credit union is very, very important because we want to satisfy the regulators and legislators that we are managing our businesses in a proper manner.” she stated.

Acknowledging that all was not well with a number of unions, cooperatives and leagues around the region, O’Marde said that these entities were in need of assistance not only from a financial perspective, but also in relation to governance, which is where others are required to assist as well.

Another recommendation coming from the summit, which was considered a priority, was the pooling of excess liquidity for investment, which Marlon Stephenson, manager of the East Caribbean Cooperative Central, said would be in the form of a debit card / master card.

He said that this venture is expected to be the life blood of the ECCL, stating that his organization is first and foremost a business entity.

Other recommendations include the building of alliances without compromising the core principles of the unions, the development of investment programmes that would create employment, the provision of a number of services and products in the area of microfinance, the support and promotion of school based cooperatives and the inspiration of the 18-34 age group.

President of the local Credit Union League Junior Bacchus said that these recommendations, among others, are expected to be carried out by the individual credit unions, leagues and the ECCL where it applies.

Bacchus also indicated that the summit was a tremendous success based on the numerous topics that were covered and networking of organizations, as well as the smooth flow of administration throughout the summit.

This year’s summit was held under the theme: “Credit Unions Standing Firm in Uncertain Times”.

The next summit will take place in St.Lucia.(JJ)