The credit unions of The Gambia are the newest members of the World Council of Credit Unions.
WOCCU’s board approved membership for the National Association of Cooperative Credit Unions of The Gambia, which represents all 61 of the African nation’s credit unions, during the group’s meeting this week in Glasgow, Scotland.
"The inroads we have made into Africa, as well as on other continents, shows that the global credit union movement is growing in strength and reach, and I am happy to have seen one final example of that growth before my retirement," said WOCCU President/CEO Pete Crear.
Crear is stepping down Aug. 3 and will be succeeded by Brian Branch, the association’s current executive vice president and COO.
"Today, the credit union movement in The Gambia steps forward proudly to join their peers within the wonderful international credit union fraternity," said Baboucarr Jeng, NACCUG general manager. "We look forward to becoming a full and active member of the WOCCU family."
NACCUG’s member credit unions have 40,000 members and $10.8 million in assets. The trade association provides advocacy, training and marketing services and serves as a central finance facility.
NACCUG also hosted WOCCU’s 2008 African Technical Congress in The Gambia and participated in the world group’s African Regulators’ Roundtable gathering in Malawi last year, WOCCU said.
With the addition of The Gambia association, WOCCU said it now has 44 members representing 55 countries.
