World Council also labors to help construct regulatory bodies in emerging countries that understand and see the value credit unions bring to consumers, Branch explained. Strong regulations, he said, are the best way to help a credit union system grow.

“The absence of regulations has caused too many problems, and we found credit unions had a better image and grew much faster if they had a solid basis of regulations and legislation,” Branch said. “We had to work with regulators so they could better understand how credit unions differ from banks.”

World Council also has grown to provide more commentary and analysis to international organizations such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the International Accounting Standards Board and other bodies whose influence is often felt by U.S. regulators. That influence feeds into World Council's ultimate goal, Branch explained.

“We want to see a very strong and compelling understanding of the credit union model and its differences,” Branch said. “The recent economic crisis gave us a huge boost, increasing the trust and perception of credit unions. Consequently, we're seeing rapid growth and we're working very hard to satisfy those needs.”