WOCCU Forms Committee Targeting Coronavirus Solutions for Credit Unions

On Tuesday, WOCCU announced the formation of a new COVID-19 Response Committee to assist credit unions around the world with identifying best practices and strategies in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a statement, WOCCU Board Director and National Credit Union Federation of Korea (NACUFOK) Chair & President Younsik Kim will chair the committee.

As the leader of the new committee, he will lead the group to help credit unions mitigate the health and economic impacts of the crisis through:

• Advocacy;
• Member support;
• Digitization;
• Community support; and
• Business continuity.

NACUFOK has been a leader in South Korea’s COVID-19 response, providing loan support services, and donating $1.76 million (U.S. dollars) and 200,000 masks to help its member credit unions, according to Kim.

“The Korean credit union system is committed to keeping members and staff safe, while ensuring they can adapt and respond to the economic impacts of the pandemic,” Kim said. “We are also committed to helping credit unions around the world devise a comprehensive strategy to not only survive this crisis but thrive in the future.”

According to the statement from WOCCU, the COVID-19 Response Committee will hold its first meeting on Aug. 27, and its first in a series of bimonthly webinars on Sept. 17.

Other members of the committee include:

• Greg Michlig, chief engagement officer, CUNA
• Elenita San Roque, CEO, Asian Confederation of Credit Unions
• George Ombado, CEO, African Confederation of Savings and Credit Cooperatives
• Adrian Rodriguez, CEO, Federation of Savings and Credit Cooperatives of Costa Rica

WOCCU officials said they plan on posting more information on the resources and future webinars on its COVID-19 resource page.