There was working visit of the delegation of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) on February 1-3 to the Russian Federation. The delegation included Brian Branch (Executive Vice-President WOCCU), Anne Cochran (WOCCU Director, President of the Louisiana Credit Union League), Alan Moore (Executive Director of the Irish League of the Credit Unions Foundation) and Pawel Grzesik (Representative in Warsaw, the National Association of Cooperative Savings and Credit Unions, Poland).
Within the framework of the three-day visit issues were discussed concerning interaction of the League with foreign partners in connection with the approved Federal Law No. 190-FZ “On credit cooperation”, further strategy of working within planned self-regulatory organisation. During the talks Valery Kasatkin, Chairman and Alexander Solomkin, CEO of the Credit Union League told the foreign partners about main priorities of current activity of our organisation and perspectives of its development. Additionally the participants discussed possibilities of holding joint events, working out new training programs and also organisation of training of Russian experts of credit cooperation based on the Credit Union Association of Poland, the Irish League of the Credit Unions Foundation and the Louisiana Credit Union League (USA). 

Also during the working visit to the Credit Union League the meeting with participants under the project implemented the Irish League of the Credit Unions Foundation in three Associations in the territory of Russia – the Credit Union Association of the Central Region, the Credit Union Associations of the Republic of Karelia and St.-Petersburg and Leningradskaya oblast took place. The representatives of the organisations informed about the way of implementation of single training programs, rules and standards of operation based on its associations and also stated their vision of further operation under the current Federal Law No. 190-FZ “On credit cooperation”.

At the last day of the talks Brian Branch and Anne were awarded by honorable award “Contribution to development of Russian credit consumers' cooperation”.

The result of the visit was signing of the partnership agreement between the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), the Louisiana Credit Union League (USA) and the Credit Union League which will establish the partnership between the Federal Credit Union Barksdale (Bossier, Louisiana) and the Altai Credit Union (Barnaul). 

Tatiana Vodolazskaya