CU Executives From Poland and U.S. Meet to Discuss Cooperation

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Greater cooperation between credit unions in the U.S. and Poland was the focus of a recent New York meeting of executives from Polish- American credit unions and financial cooperatives from Poland.The $1.2 billion Polish and Slavic Federal Credit Union, headquartered in Brooklyn, hosted the Nov. 25 meeting with executives from other Polish-American credit unions and the National Association of Cooperative Savings and Loans, the association of financial cooperatives in Poland.The discussions centered on future partnerships, shared experiences and the impact of the current economic situation, PSFCU reported.One area that was discussed during the CEO roundtable conference was the idea of shared branching, which would enable cooperative use of the branches. This was particularly important a way to help those traveling back and forth between Poland and the U.S. One proposal was to waive ATM fees for those members of the three U.S. credit unions that use SKOK’s facilities in Poland.“Given the fact that we all share the same mission of offering the finest and most convenient services to all our members, it only makes sense for us to join in the spirit of cooperation to build a ‘credit union bridge’ between Polish -American credit unions and also between the U.S. and Poland,” said PSFCU CEO Bogdan Chmielewski.“But it should be noted that we do share a long history of working together, as we have partnered in the past to assist our Polish counterparts with a donation of basic equipment a decade ago. We are excited about marshaling our strengths to achieve the greater good,” he added.Issues presented at the conference will be analyzed in depth by the management of each of the respective institutions. All participants saw purpose in the continuation of these initiatives and expressed interest in organizing such events in the future. Those involved indicated that the meeting was a constructive example of the Polish-American organizations working and uniting for the benefit of their communities, PSFCU said.–[email protected]