MADISON, Wis. -- Representatives from Plano, Texas-based Southwest Corporate Federal Credit Union traveled to Belize last week to lay the foundation for an international partnership with the Belize Credit Union League.
The partnership will mark the first such relationship between an international association and a corporate credit union in the United States.
The new partnership is the most recent of the 25 partnerships established through World Council of Credit Unions' International Partnership program. WOCCU's other partnerships exist between international credit union associations and U.S. credit union leagues.
Corporate credit unions offer services that allow natural-person credit unions to better meet member needs, according to WOCCU International Partnerships Manager Victor Miguel Corro. He added that by sharing information about topics such as payment systems, ALM training, interconnectivity, and wire transfers, the two organizations will establish a relationship based on topics more technical in nature.
Corporate credit unions already are actively participating in international partnerships, said Corro. The new relationship between Southwest Corporate and the Belize league will be the first to allow a corporate credit union to directly cooperate simultaneously with a foreign league and credit unions.
"This visit clarified the importance of corporate credit unions and confirmed the partnership's great potential," said Natalie Goff, the Belize league's executive director. "Most of the services that Southwest Corporate offers are applicable in the league. The credit unions in Belize can also transfer a lot of knowledge to U.S. credit unions, especially in community outreach."
A reciprocal visit to the United States by the Belize league members is in the works for mid-summer this year.
