SOPOT, Poland — Poland's National Association of Cooperative Savings and Credit Unions' unconventional strategy to fund ATM and credit card development by creating a company and taking it public is being heralded as a success there. However, those attending a World Council of Credit Unions program in Poland aren't confident it would fly here.
NACSCU's Credit Union Financial Society put forth its initial public offering in June, listing 5 million shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Although available to the public, the first offering was quickly snapped up by credit union members, raising 5 million z?,oty (US $2.1 million).
"The move took me by surprise, and I'm not sure what to make of it," said Joe Bergeron, president of the Association of Vermont Credit Unions. "It's definitely a non-credit union approach, and I'm not sure if that's good or bad. It's certainly an innovative approach."
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Bill Cheney, president and CEO of the California & Nevada Credit Union Leagues, agreed.
"You have to admire their creativity; however, the pressures in the U.S. of being a publicly held company are tremendous, and I'm not sure the trade off would be worth the effort or expense," Cheney said "However, some would say that applying market disciplines to the credit union movement would do it a lot of good."
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