PODCAST · business
The Global Credit Union Podcast
by World Council of Credit Unions
Hear how World Council of Credit Unions engages in advocacy, development and education to champion and grow credit unions and cooperative finance worldwide on our monthly podcast. We'll feature interviews with World Council's diverse array of experts and other credit union professionals from our global membership base.
Episodes
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Episode 54: Analyzing WOCCU's 2024 Statistical Report
World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) released its 2024 Statistical Report in October and the man who conducted the survey and compiled the data joins Episode 54 of the Global Credit Union Podcast to break down it all down. Thom Belekevich, WOCCU Director of Member Services, discusses the most...
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Episode 53: Emerging Trends in Fraud and Cybersecurity for Credit Unions
Credit unions have never seen a greater amount of fraud and other cybersecurity threats than they have in 2025. For this month’s episode of the podcast, we’re joined by Efrain Orsini, Jr., Director of Security Operations for SilverSky, a cybersecurity firm that has safeguarded a number of…
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Episode 52: The Impact of U.S. Tariffs on Credit Unions
Every business in the world is keeping a close on President Trump's tariffs, and credit unions are no different. But what are the impacts of those tariffs on the global credit union movement? On this episode we dive deep into that question by taking a look at consumer sentiment, inflation and…
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Episode 51: Member Spotlight on the Polish Credit Union System
This month on Episode 51 of the Global Credit Union Podcast, we feature our first Member Spotlight on Poland's National Association of Co-operative Savings and Credit Unions (NACSCU), by interviewing NACSCU President Rafał Matusiak. Rafal, who is also a member of World Council of Credit Unions'...
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Episode 50: A Preview of the 2025 World Credit Union Conference
We preview the 2025 World Credit Union Conference this month on Episode 50 of The Global Credit Union Podcast. Christi Swoboda, WOCCU Director of International Meetings and Events, shares all the you need to know before you arrive in Stockholm, Sweden, and also previews the keynote speakers and...
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Episode 49: WOCCU Interim President and CEO Paul Treinen
World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) Interim President and CEO Paul Treinen is the featured guest this month. He talks about his vision for moving our organization forward during a time of transition. The WOCCU Board of Directors in April appointed Paul to the temporary leadership position upon...
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Episode 48: Cooperation for a Prosperous World on International Credit Union (ICU) Day 2025
World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) launched the promotion of International Credit Union Day 2025 in April under the theme “Cooperation for a Prosperous World”. It ties into the United Nations declaring 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives under the theme "Cooperatives Build a Better...
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Episode 47: Rallying the Movement
World Council of Credit Unions’ (WOCCU) President and CEO Elissa McCarter LaBorde returns to the podcast along with Mike Reuter, President of Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions (WFCU), to discuss WFCU’s Rally the Movement campaign. Since we recorded our last episode, USAID terminated all…
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Episode 46: Advocating for the Value of International Credit Union Development
World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) faces a crucial moment in its history. Due to the U.S. freeze on all foreign aid, we have had to stop work on all three of the international development projects we had been implementing on behalf of the U.S. government. That has resulted in reductions for...
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Episode 45: New Year, New Format to Preview 2025
We are excited to launch a new format for The Global Credit Union Podcast in 2025. While you'll still hear interviews with World Council of Credit Unions' (WOCCU) executives and other global credit union leaders on a wide range of topics that are vitally important to our industry, you'll now also...
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Episode 44: Uplifting Credit Union Women through GWLN Empowerment Grants
The Global Women’s Leadership Network's (GWLN) 2023 Empowerment Grant initiatives supported over 760 individuals in Kenya and Mongolia, increased Kenyan farmers’ incomes by 20% and provided 112 Mongolian credit union leaders with training on sustainable finance, driving economic empowerment and...
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Episode 43: How Grassroots Advocacy and Global Support Stopped a Burdensome Regulation in the Cayman Islands
When the Cayman Islands' Ministry of Finance in August proposed a new $200,000 annual registration fee for the country's only credit union, Cayman Islands Civil Service Association Credit Union (CICSA) Limited CEO Patricia Estwick immediately mobilized employees, board directors and members…
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Episode 42: Growing Credit Union Financial Inclusion Through WOCCU Global Programs
This month’s episode of the podcast focuses on how technical specialists with World Council of Credit Unions’ (WOCCU) Global Programs' teams are growing financial inclusion through credit unions in developing nations. Nearly 20 of the specialists gathered in Washington, D.C. in early October for...
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Episode 41: A Conversation with New WOCCU Board Chair Michael Lawrence
This month on the Global Credit Union Podcast, Michael Lawrence joins us to discuss his new role as Chair of the World Council of Credit Unions' Board of Directors. Lawrence is the Chief Executive Officer of the Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA), the industry body for Australia’s credit...
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Episode 40: Working to GROW Credit Union Business Lending in Ukraine
We go back to Ukraine this month to speak with Ewa Sierzynska, Chief of Party for World Council of Credit Unions' new GROW Project, a four-year, $10 million initiative funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that will seek to expand access to finance through credit unions...
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Episode 39: Creating "One World" on International Credit Union (ICU) Day® 2024
Leaders from World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) and Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions (WFCU) discuss their efforts to create a theme of unity and togetherness for the 76th anniversary of International Credit Union (ICU) Day® on Thursday, October 17, 2024. WOCCU Director of Member…
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Episode 38: A Preview of the 2024 World Credit Union Conference
Sponsored by Creatio, Episode 38 of The Global Credit Union Podcast gets you ready with everything you need to know for the 2024 World Credit Union Conference in Boston, July 21-24. Christi Swoboda, Director of International Meetings and Events for World Council of Credit Unions, is organizing…
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Episode 37: Great IDEAS for Credit Union Digitalization in the Caribbean
The COVID-19 pandemic caused many credit unions around the world to lose the face-to-face contact they had with members in their branches. That was especially difficult for credit unions without widespread digital capabilities, because those same members were then unable to process transactions...
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Episode 36: An Education on Climate Resilience
One year ago, Donore Credit Union in Dublin, Ireland established the Donore Area Sustainable Community (DASC), a community group dedicated to playing its part in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving the quality of the natural environment in the local area. Part of that process was a...
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Episode 35: They're Coming to America
America’s Credit Unions’ Governmental Affairs Conference took place in early March in Washington, D.C. Better known simply as GAC, it is the largest annual gathering for credit union professionals in the United States. But each year, more and more international credit union professionals make the...
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Episode 34: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in the International Credit Union Movement
February is Black History Month in the United States and Canada, and we use that as a jumping off point for a discussion about the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) movement taking hold at credit unions on a number of continents. Renee Sattiewhite, President and CEO of the African-American...
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Episode 33: The 2024 Global Regulatory Update
If technological innovations are going to truly boost financial inclusion worldwide, international standard setting bodies and national-level regulators must consider the institutions offering digital financial products and services as much as they examine how those deliverables are offered when...
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Episode 32: How World Council Expanded the Relevance of Credit Unions in 2023
We wrap up 2023 by taking a look back at how World Council succeeded this year in making credit unions more relevant in key strategic areas, such as climate resilience, digitalization and the financial inclusion of migrants, refugees, women and youth. Our professionals also talk about how World...
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Episode 31: Growing Membership at WOCCU and Across Our Global Movement
Thom Belekevich, World Council of Credit Unions’ (WOCCU) Director of Member Services, helped open the door of WOCCU membership to more credit union associations, and even some individual credit unions for the first time in 2023. He joins the podcast on Episode 31 to talk about the specific…
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Episode 30: 75 Years of International Credit Union Day
This month, we are taking time to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of International Credit Union Day, celebrated on October 19, 2023. Each year since 1948 our global movement has taken time out on the third Thursday of October to celebrate the spirit people helping people. ICU Day, as its commonly...
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Episode 29: GWLN 2023 Empowerment Grant Winners
Chimgee Nergui, Partnership Specialist at the Mongolian National Confederation of Credit Unions, and Violet Ndungu, CEO of Muki SACCO in Kenya, are the Global Women’s Leadership Network’s (GWLN) 2023 Empowerment Grant recipients. Both women join the program this month to discuss being awarded...
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Episode 28: Meet the First WOCCU Board Observers
Eleonora Zgonjanin Petrovikj, CEO of FULM Savings House (North Macedonia) and Patrick Rico, External Affairs Manager at ACDI Multipurpose Cooperative (Philippines), join the podcast to discuss being recipients of the inaugural 2023 WOCCU Fellowship. WOCCU in April launched the first Fellowship...
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Episode 27: Growing Credit Union SME Lending Through the USAID-CDP/WOCCU TIFI Project
Herpin Jateng, Acting Chief of Party for the USAID Cooperative Development Program (CDP)/World Council of Credit Unions' Technology and Innovation for Financial Inclusion (TIFI) Project, is the featured guest on Episode 27. He discusses how the TIFI Project has worked to grow small-and-medium...
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Episode 26: A Preview of the 2023 World Credit Union Conference
Brian Harris, President and CEO of Interior Savings Credit Union in Vancouver, Canada—home to next month’s 2023 World Credit Union Conference—joins the podcast to talk about the vibrant city and all it has to offer the more than 3,000 credit union professionals who will be converging on it from...
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Episode 25: How 3 Years of Success Led to an Extension of the USAID/WOCCU Economic Inclusion Project
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in May 2023 extended the flagship project of its Venezuela Regional Response Program through May 2026, awarding $14 million to World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) to continue implementation of the Economic Inclusion Project (EIP)…
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Episode 24: A Deep Dive into Climate Resilience and Sustainable Finance
We take a deep dive into World Council of Credit Unions’ strategic focus on climate resilience and sustainable finance this month. We start at Sicredi Pioneira, a credit union based in Nova Petropolis, Brazil that is leading the way on solar energy. You’ll hear all about how they are helping...
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Episode 23: How WOCCU is Working for Women
World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) joined the rest of the world in celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8. And since this is also Women’s History Month, WOCCU is focusing this episode on the ways our organization helps women in the global credit union community through our programs...
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Episode 22: One Year of War and the Resilience of Ukrainian Credit Unions
With February 2023 marking the somber one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we look back on how several projects and entities have worked with Ukrainian credit unions to keep them resilient and open to members. That includes the World Council of Credit Unions/USAID…
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Episode 21: Nominations Open for the Digital Growth and Distinguished Service Awards
2023 nominations are now open for a pair of World Council of Credit Unions’ annual awards. The Digital Growth Award recognizes one or more member credit union associations or member credit unions for implementing digital solutions that promote financial inclusion, innovation and scalability.…
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Episode 20: How WOCCU Responded to a Year of Multiple Crises and Built a Resilient Strategy for 2023
After an optimistic start to the year, the global credit union movement was hit with multiple crises, including Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and soaring inflation worldwide. In this final episode of 2022, we look back at how World Council of Credit Unions helped its members navigate...
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Episode 19: How Canadian Credit Unions Are Embracing Bold Initiatives
We’re focusing on Canada this month through interviews with: · Jeff Guthrie, President and CEO of the Canadian Credit Union Association(CCUA) and the newest member of World Council of Credit Unions’ (WOCCU) Board of Directors. · Mani Sheppard-Luangkhot, Manager, Financial Access Programs,...
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Episode 18: A Deep Dive into WOCCU's 2021 Statistical Report
Despite year-to-year growth in overall membership and total assets for the global credit union movement, World Council of Credit Unions’ (WOCCU) 2021 Statistical Report shows major gaps in key product and service offerings have resulted in different priorities and risk concerns for credit unions…
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Episode 17: WOCCU Board Chair Diana Dykstra
This month’s featured guest is Diana Dykstra, who was just named Chair of World Council of Credit Unions’ Board of Directors in July. A six-year veteran of the WOCCU Board, Dykstra has more than 40 years of experience in leading top organizations in the financial services industry. She is…
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Episode 16: Sharing Stories of Empowerment on International Credit Union Day
The theme for International Credit Union Day 2022 is "Empower Your Financial Future with a Credit Union." World Council of Credit Unions is looking forward to celebrating that theme on Thursday, October 20. World Council and Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions are leading the way in asking for...
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Episode 15: Can Credit Unions Provide Solutions to Ease Global Food Insecurity?
Episode 15 of the Global Credit Union Podcast examines the global food security crisis caused by COVID-19, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and climate change and looks at whether credit unions can provide more solutions to help local food producers. Jacob Kirkegaard, nonresident senior fellow with…
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Episode 14: Forging a Path for Migrants Through the Economic Inclusion Project with Oscar Guzman
Oscar Guzman, Chief of Party for World Council of Credit Unions’ Economic Inclusion Project (EIP), discusses how the USAID-funded activity in Peru and Ecuador connects Venezuelan migrants and low-income local residents to financial services, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, and also...
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Episode 13: ABCUL CEO Robert Kelly on Glasgow Hosting the 2022 World Credit Union Conference
Robert Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of the Association of British Credit Unions Limited (ABCUL) is our guest for Episode 13 of the Global Credit Union Podcast. ABCUL, World Council’s direct member credit union association in the United Kingdom, is co-hosting the 2022 World Credit Union…
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Episode 12: 36 Hours in Rzeszow
World Council of Credit Unions' (WOCCU) President and CEO Elissa McCarter LaBorde and members of the WOCCU Credit for Agriculture Producers (CAP) Project visited Rzeszow, Poland on April 19 and 20 to hold a series of meetings aimed at exploring ways they can help provide further assistance in...
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Episode 11: The Impact of the Russian Invasion on Ukrainian Credit Unions
Our guest on this edition of the Global Credit Union Podcast is “Aleksandr.” A liaison to the Ukrainian credit union movement, Aleksandr talks about the dire circumstances facing both the people of Ukraine and its credit unions. Aleksandr is not his real name. We chose to hide his identity for…
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Episode 10: A Preview of the 2022 World Credit Union Conference
The World Credit Union Conference returns as an in-person event for 2022! We preview the conference set for July 17-20 in Glasgow, Scotland on Episode 10 of the Global Credit Union Podcast. Belinda Parmar, founder and CEO of The Empathy Business is the featured guest. She will address attendees…
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Episode Nine: The 2022 Global Regulatory Update
Sustainable finance is one of the fastest growing areas of concerns for regulators and credit unions, which is why it is the focus of World Council of Credit Unions’ 2022 Global Regulatory Update for Credit Unions and Financial Cooperatives. World Council Assistant General Counsel of…
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Episode Eight: How a Peruvian Fintech is Digitizing Credit Unions in Just 30 Days
Facundo Turconi, owner and CEO of Solven, a South American fintech, is featured on Episode Eight to discuss how his firm has helped credit unions in Peru offer digital credit options to their members in less than two months through World Council of Credit Unions’ Economic Inclusion Project.…
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Episode Seven: How GWLN and WYCUP Are Leveling the Playing Field for Women and Youth
Results of a first-time demographic survey of World Council of Credit Unions' member credit union associations showed women trail far behind men when it comes to credit union membership and leadership. The responses, from 34 credit union associations on five continents, also showed the average...
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Episode Six: WOCCU President and CEO Elissa McCarter LaBorde
New World Council of Credit Unions' (WOCCU) President and CEO Elissa McCarter LaBorde is the featured guest. Elissa took over her new leadership role in August 2021, bringing more than 20 years of experience leading organizations in delivering financial services to underserved communities across...
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Episode Five: Building Global Bridges with Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions' Executive Director Mike Reuter
Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions’ Executive Director Mike Reuter joins the program in Episode Five to discuss the global journey available to credit unions that take part in the Global Bridges program. As the charitable and engagement arm of World Council of Credit Unions, the Worldwide...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Hear how World Council of Credit Unions engages in advocacy, development and education to champion and grow credit unions and cooperative finance worldwide on our monthly podcast. We'll feature interviews with World Council's diverse array of experts and other credit union professionals from our global membership base.
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World Council of Credit Unions
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How many episodes does The Global Credit Union Podcast have?
The Global Credit Union Podcast currently has 55 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Global Credit Union Podcast about?
Hear how World Council of Credit Unions engages in advocacy, development and education to champion and grow credit unions and cooperative finance worldwide on our monthly podcast. We'll feature interviews with World Council's diverse array of experts and other credit union professionals from our...
How often does The Global Credit Union Podcast release new episodes?
The Global Credit Union Podcast has 55 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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Who hosts The Global Credit Union Podcast?
The Global Credit Union Podcast is created and hosted by World Council of Credit Unions.
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