Augu

st - S

epte

mbe

r 201

5

Highlights of the monthly activities of the ASSOCIATION OF ASIAN CONFEDERATION OF CREDIT UNIONS

Management Report 25th Asian Credit Union Forum

Calls for Concrete Action on CU Network Integration “Unity also calls for respect — respect the diversity of our Asian Credit Union Movement.

The stability of unity comes from the spirit of equality and oneness. The greatness of unity is that everyone is respected.” Andrew So

ACCU welcomed 620 credit union advocates and enthusiasts

from 38 countries on September 6 to 13, 2015 in Bangkok,

Thailand at the 25th Asian Credit Union Forum hosted by the

Federation of Savings and Credit Cooperatives of Thailand (FSCT)

and the Credit Union League of Thailand (CULT).

Inaugurated by the Secretary General of the Agricultural

Economic Office of Thailand, the topics on the theme Leading

and Managing Change for the Integration of Credit Union

Networks encapsulated changes, challenges and responsibilities

of the leaders as the network pursue higher level of integration

of the credit union networks in Asia.

The forum concluded with recommendations that call for actions on

integration. “It may take many years to integrate, but the first step

has to be taken to start the journey,” according to ACCU President Dr.

Chalermpol Dulsamphant.

Resource persons with extensive experiences and perspectives on the

topics from Australian Supporter Members, World Council of Credit

Unions, Desjardins Developpement international (DID), and technical

resource from member organizations in Asia have contributed to the

success of the forum. The panel discussions at the breakout sessions

allowed participants to engage in the deliberation. The National

Credit Union Federation of Korea is now getting ready to host the

2016 Forum in Incheon, Korea.

42

Management Report

34th Annual General Meeting

The meeting held on September 13 in Bangkok, Thailand was attended by 11 voting Delegates from the Regular Members and 5 non-voting delegates from Affiliate Members including observers from Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Australia and Nepal to the General Meeting.

83rd Board of Directors Meeting

In conjunction with the Forum and other credit union events, the five-member Board of ACCU met on September 8. The next regular meeting of the Board is scheduled on March 10 – 12, 2016 in Myanmar.

Audit Supervisory Committee Meeting

The members of the committee President Dr. Chalermpol Dulsamphant and Treasurer Mr. Rishi Raj Ghimire met in Bangkok on September 8, 2015 the regular oversight of the financial operations of ACCU. In attendance on the management side were CEO Ms. Elenita V. San Roque, Administrative Officer Nutchakan Toscha and Secretary/Programs Sukhmeet Sohal. The Committee approved the audited financial statements of ACCU as of June 30, 2015. Au

gust

- Sep

tem

ber 2

015

Augu

st - S

epte

mbe

r 201

5On behalf of the Association of Asian Confederation of Credit Unions (ACCU), the Federation of Savings and Credit Cooperatives Ltd. (FSCT) and the Credit Union League of Thailand Ltd. (CULT), we want to thank all the participants for your active participation at the 25th Asian Credit Union Open Forum. Our objective is to continue to build on concrete action towards CU Network Integration. We certainly hope that the conference has been fruitful and that you have taken the opportunity to make new friends and renew old acquaintances.

All the available presentations have been uploaded to ACCU website. Please copy the following link to the browser to proceed: http://aaccu.coop/publication-documents.php?pub_cat_id=2&cat_name=Technical%20Reports&page=33

Look forward to welcome you again in Korea!

Announcement! Forum Presentations on ACCU website

3

Management Report

The pre-forum workshops (CEOs, HRD, Youth & Women) simultaneously

organized on September 7 - 9 prior to the forum in Thailand concluded

with recommendations serving as inputs to business plan of ACCU and

its member organizations.

The 23 CEOs recommended a systematization of payment platform,

conduct national level orientations to support adoption of the system

and introduce E-Wallets through Credit Unions.

The 48 attendees of HRD Workshop established priorities and elements

for implementing a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) model at local

and federation level; Encourage establishment of Stabilization Fund in

the National Federation to protect the member funds; Strengthen the

Federated System starting with IT and lastly recommended each credit

union to provide financial resources to support CSR up to 5% of net

surplus (people tax).

Meanwhile, 25 women and youth enumerated a range of strategies

to increase their participation in both membership and leadership

of credit unions; to add a young voice to ACCU Board; encouraged

women to become members of the Global Women Leadership

Network and encouraged all cooperatives to become ACCESS Branding

Accredited.

TEMENOS technical team Murray Gardiner, Will Hackett, Charlene

Bachman and Marie Valdez facilitated the CEOs workshop, while WAW Credit Union’s Directors Mark Dixen and Diane MaGrath facilitated the

HRD workshop as a resource with NATCCO’s Training and Consultancy Group Head and ALMI member Daisybelle Cabal. While a team from

Encompass Credit Union - Brian Bennett, Louise Aubusson and Gillian George facilitated the Youth and Women’s workshop.

Pre Forum Workshop Recommendations Critical to

CU Network Integration

Sister Society Launched in AsiaSister Societies aim to further the vision of World Council’s Global

Women’s Leadership Network, which is to advance credit union

women in leadership and support outreach to women in World

Council’s development programs worldwide. Sister Societies are

local chapters of the Global Women’s Leadership Network that are

established around the world to further the Network’s global mission

by making a local impact. The purpose is to convene credit union

women, discuss credit union issues, exchange ideas, network with

neighboring credit union leaders, and share lessons learned with

Network members worldwide.

The three main areas of focus: personal development, professional

development, and credit union development. The President and

Founder of the GWLN Susan Mitchell herself launched the SS.

ACCU is anticipating number of SS will be established across Asia.

ACCU launched the Sister society in Asia on September 11 at the Asian Credit Union Forum where 590 (160 women) credit union leaders from 25 plus countries were in attendance.

Augu

st - S

epte

mbe

r 201

5

4

Management Report

The Association of Asian Confederation of Credit Unions institutes

a regular and permanent means of recognizing the contributions

of individuals to the credit union development in Asia. The

awards were presented at the opening of the Asian credit union

forum on September 11.

The Individual Recognition Award was bestowed to Mr. Chuang

Chin-sheng for his exceptional leadership and contributions to

credit unions in Taiwan and in Asia. He was instrumental in the

passing of the credit union law in Taiwan. He served as ACCU

President in 1996 to 2000.

The Institution Recognition Award was bestowed to the ten

supporter members from Australia: Bank MECU, Encompass

Credit Union, First Choice Credit Union, Maritime Mining Power

Credit Union, My Credit Union, NSWFB Credit Union, Select

Mutual Banking, The Community Mutual Group, The Shire Local

Banking and WAW Credit Union.

They were recognized for their ongoing financial contribution

for credit union development. The project being supported in

Laos and Bhutan is aimed to organize credit unions that deliver

financial services at affordable costs to sections of disadvantaged

and low-income segments of society.

Remarkable Achievements and Contributions to CU

Development Recognized

Two Philippine Coops Received Accreditation

Tagum Cooperative received the first Silver ACCESS accreditation

while San Jose del Monte Savings and Credit Cooperative received

the Bronze ACCESS accreditation valid from September 1, 2015

to August 31, 2015. The formal awarding was held at the opening

program of the Asian credit union forum on September 11.

ACCESS (Business solution no. 3), based on Balance Scorecard

is a quality assurance standards agreed by members of ACCU.

It can be used as management tool, supervision tool and third

party accreditation. Since ACCESS monitors the four perspectives

of operation, it strikes balance between social and financial

performance of a credit union.

Augu

st - S

epte

mbe

r 201

5

Augu

st - S

epte

mbe

r 201

5

5

Management Report

The Asian credit union leaders met 35 delegates from 18 countries as ACCU hosted the PROXFIN’s International Seminar on Governance and

Annual Meeting in conjunction with Asian Credit Union Open Forum on September 8 to 12.

Proxfin is an international network of thirty community finance institutions and Développement international Desjardins (DID) whose

members have made a commitment to work towards the dual objectives of financial performance and social impact which they consider

inseparable. Proxfin’s goal is to foster communication among these institutions which share the same values and approach to performance

and community involvement. ACCU is a member of Proxfin.

Paglaum MPC Project in Progress

Augu

st - S

epte

mbe

r 201

5 ACCU Hosts Proxfin’s 9th Annual Meeting and Seminar in Bangkok

The recent monitoring visit of CEO Elenita San Roque along with

GWLN (Global Women Leadership Network) member Shana

Richardson, and enterprise consultant Patareepan Pongwat

helped Paglaum MPC staff plan for the Business Development

Services program for 2016. The PMPC team acknowledged that

they need guidance on the operation of BDS since the concept is

very new to them.

The BDS is envisioned as vehicle for the poor women members

of PMPC to engage in sustainable business enterprise that will

help them rise above poverty. The BDS shall provide consulting

on business management, linkage to market, generate business

ideas, provide technical and skills training and train women to be

financially literate.

The project was initiated through the 2014 empowerment grant

received by ACCU CEO from the GWLN. The BDS coordinator of

PMPC received an empowerment grant for 2015 to continue the

initiatives.

6

Management Report Bangladesh Coop Regulators

Study Credit Union Operations in Thailand

During the 1st week of August, 24 Village Development Fund

partners which comprises of Board and Committee members from

Nanyang Nue, Muangkai, Sopjet, and Phonthong Village in Luang

Prabang district received technical assistance in basic accounting

and proper recording management.

With orderly filling of records and proper training, SACUDIL target

to manage the delinquency rate to less than 5%. This would

include completing the loan information form; loan processing;

approval by the SCU credit committees and on time submission of

monthly report using PEARLS format.

Augu

st - S

epte

mbe

r 201

5

As per request of the honorable Registrar and Director General of Department of Cooperatives in Bangladesh, ACCU welcomed the 25

government officials to Thailand on August 16-22 for their study visit. The delegates from Sri Lanka also joined the group in visiting the

Federation of Savings and Credit Cooperatives, Credit Union League of Thailand, and St. Peter Credit Union. The group appreciated

the learning and experiences they gained during the study visit. The Cooperative Credit Union League of Bangladesh (CCULB) boasts a

cordial working partnership with the Department.

SACUDIL Provides Basic Technical Assistance

to New SCUs

Random SCU Audit by SACUDIL and RDPE

Performed

The audit performed by the staff of SACUDIL and RDPE (Rural

Development and Poverty Eradication) revealed that SCUs in

Namthoumthai and Phonsawan distributed dividends to members

even no sufficient have been generated.

The staff recommended that the SCUs must follow the regulations

of the Bank of Lao, the regulatory body for savings and credit

unions. Violations on the regulations are grounds for the

cancellation of license to operate. SACUDIL project conducts

random audit of SCUs to prevent malpractices.