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Azerbaijan Credit Unions Association joins WOCCU

06 April 2009 10:20 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Vugar Israfilov â€“ APA-Economics. Azerbaijan Credit Unions Association (AKIA) joined World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) after applications from Azerbaijanâ€™s and Uzbekistanâ€™s national organizations were approved by the board of directors.
"We’re very excited to welcome Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan to WOCCU," said Pete Crear, WOCCU’s president and CEO. "The entrance into membership of two more former Soviet satellite countries that began as WOCCU development programs speaks to the strength credit unions can bring to developing nations."
The Azerbaijan Credit Union Association (AKIA) represents 56 of the 70 credit unions serving the country, and AKIA’s member institutions serve 90% of the country’s estimated 9,800 credit union members. The association is the first to receive WOCCU’s new affiliate member designation, designed to admit credit union associations without the financial resources to support direct memberships.
"On behalf of all Azerbaijan credit unions, we will do all the work necessary to promote the development of credit unions in our country," said Elchin Bagirov, AKIA’s chairman. "We plan to start our work immediately."
Representatives from the new member associations will be introduced and given the opportunity to speak to delegates at WOCCU’s next Annual General Meeting, to be held in conjunction with the World Credit Union Conference, July 26-29, in Barcelona, Spain.
World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) is the global trade association and development agency for credit unions. WOCCU promotes the sustainable development of credit unions and other financial cooperatives around the world to empower people through access to high quality and affordable financial services. WOCCU advocates on behalf of the global credit union system before international organizations and works with national governments to improve legislation and regulation. Its technical assistance programs introduce new tools and technologies to strengthen credit unions’ financial performance and increase their outreach.
Worldwide, 49,000 credit unions in 96 countries serve more than 177 million people. In 2008, World Council’s technical assistance programs reached more than 8 million people in 16 countries.