WOCCU Spreads the Credit Union Spirit Abroad

The World Council of Credit Unions has spent the last 45 years trying to bring basic financial services to people in parts of the world that are often poor, remote and neglected by their governments and big financial institutions.

In May their work took them to Puerto Rico, where 3.3 million U.S. citizens and thousands of credit union members are struggling with the aftermath of last fall’s Hurricane Maria and a territorial government in default on its debts.

Brian Branch, WOCCU’s president/CEO since 2011, participated in an assessment of credit union conditions in Puerto Rico along with representatives of the Massachusetts-based Cooperative Credit Union Association and the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions.

Branch, an economist who has undertaken credit union assignments in more than 40 countries, said he was proud that many credit unions reopened within a week of the hurricane, providing residents access to their cash when many other financial institutions remained closed.

“It spurs a lot of loyalty in the communities, and a lot of membership growth and savings growth,” Branch said.

The situation is providing a “honeymoon period” for credit unions, a momentum many of them needed to overcome the hits to their balance sheets from their heavy investments in bonds backed by the Puerto Rican government, which declared bankruptcy four months before last year’s hurricane.

WOOCU, founded 45 years ago, has 19 employees at its Madison, Wis., headquarters, 10 in Washington, and another 40 in other offices around the world.

Branch said WOCCU represents 90 of the 110 countries with credit unions, up from about 60 a few years ago. WOCCU-affiliated credit unions account for 72% of the world’s 222.8 million members and 92% of their $1.8 trillion in assets.

WOCCU is increasingly engaging international bodies that set standards for financial institutions.

“They’re setting them for 150 large international banks; they’re not thinking about credit unions or community-based institutions,” Branch said. “We represent 90 countries, and we can knock on a door and get more of an audience.”

Besides regulation, issues WOCCU deals with abroad are very familiar to those credit unions struggle with in the U.S., such as:

• Keeping up with technology and cybersecurity practices;
• Building membership, in particular attracting young adults; and
• Increasing the resilience of small credit unions.

WOCCU now has an $8 million annual budget, down from $13.5 million in 2016. Two years ago grants accounted for $5.4 million in revenue, with the bulk coming from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Project work ebbs and flows, and WOCCU now has relatively little work with the U.S. government.

“In the current environment, there isn’t a lot of interest in work overseas,” he said. “That could change in two or four years, and depending on what’s going on around the world.”

Meanwhile, there is plenty of work in the United States.

WOCCU has a long relationship with Puerto Rican credit unions because it often holds training sessions on the island for managers across Latin America.

During their visit in May, Branch and others in the delegation saw farmers replanting and workers rebuilding homes and infrastructure. They also spent much of their time talking about financial workout strategies with the island’s credit union leaders.

The damage from Hurricane Maria last September is visible. But credit unions in Puerto Rico are hobbled by a financial storm that hit earlier. Credit unions invested heavily in territorial bonds, and their capital was severely impaired when the Puerto Rican government defaulted in May 2017.

For two credit unions Branch visited in Puerto Rico, about 15% to 20% of their assets were held in defaulted government bonds. He estimates other large credit unions probably have similar stakes, while smaller ones might have less exposure.

Six credit unions that hold Puerto Rico government bonds with a face value of $976 million sued the government in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in March. The credit unions said the government should repay them in full because the government used false statements, and accused it of embezzlement while operating in a fiduciary role and fraud to lure the unions to purchase the bonds.

The credit unions also claimed that the Public Corporation for the Supervision and Insurance of Cooperatives of Puerto Rico (COSSEC) misused its regulatory power when it began pressuring them to acquire Puerto Rico securities in 2009.

There are 115 credit unions in Puerto Rico that are regulated by the territorial government by COSSEC and whose results are not included in NCUA data.

The assets and members of the COSSEC-governed credit unions have grown steadily since 2013.  They had 988,086 members at the end of 2017, up 0.8% from a year earlier. Assets grew 1.7% to $8.7 billion.

While the COSSEC-governed credit unions account for 92% of the territory’s members and assets, the eight federally-insured credit unions have grown faster. Members grew 5.3% to 85,279, while assets grew 5.1% to $781.9 million.

Return on average assets was 0.29% for the 12 months of 2017 for the COSSEC credit unions. Federally-insured credit unions had 0.17% ROA in 2017, down from 0.40% in 2016.

NCUA data shows the eight federally-insured credit unions are all well capitalized and have an average net worth ratio of 11.6%. However, seven of the eight federally-insured credit unions showed net losses for the three months that ended Dec. 31, 2017, compared with three in 2016’s fourth quarter.

In the fourth-quarter wake of the hurricane, the eight lost a combined $583,189, compared with a $767,183 gain in the last three months of 2016. For the year, their combined net income was $1.3 million, down 55.7% from 2016.

Credit union deposits have grown in the past year. Credit unions are looking to find ways to start lending to small businesses, which banks have pulled back from lending to.

At the same time, credit unions are dealing with delinquencies of people who have fled the island and are not repaying their loans.

“A large part of the population has left the island. They’ve lost the small businesses that were providing jobs, and they’ve lost some of the workers,” Branch said.

Puerto Ricans have a great need for loans to help rebuild their homes and businesses, but credit unions on the island are limited in the help they can provide.

“It boils down to borrowers’ income and repayment capacity,” he said. Because of the government default, teachers, police officers and other government employees aren’t being paid regularly.

Branch said credit unions should be sure they’re making good loans, but they also need to be aggressive and build up their reserves while they can.

“At some point, someone is going to come along with shiny technology, and attract people away again. You need to update and upgrade your services,” he said. “They’re still in the honeymoon period. Both the state- and federally-chartered credit unions have a lot of opportunity to grow.”