The World Council of Credit Unions gained a member and lost a leader at its annual conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
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 July 24-27 conference.
"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 told the conference he was stepping down Aug. 3. His successor is Brian Branch, promoted from executive vice president and chief operating officer.
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.
"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 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.
