The World Council of Credit Unions welcomed the credit union associations of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.
The applications from the two countries' national organizations were approved by WOCCU's board of directors earlier this month.
The Azerbaijan Credit Union Association represents 56 of the 70 credit unions serving the country and the association's members serve 90% of the country's estimated 9,800 credit union members. AKIA is the first to received WOCCU's new affiliate member designation for associations without the financial resources to support direct memberships.
The Credit Union Association of Uzbekistan was formed by 11 credit unions in 2005. Uzbekistan now has 78 credit unions that serve more than 99,000 members.
"We're very excited to welcome Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan to WOCCU," said Pete Crear, WOCCU's president/CEO. The addition of two more former Soviet satellite countries, he added, speaks to the strength credit unions can bring to developing nations.
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