CUNA wrote Senate Appropriations Committee leaders Thursday in strong support of several international credit union priorities. There are over 86,000 credit unions in 118 countries with $2.6 trillion dollars in total assets serving 291 million members. 

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed a law July 14 updating the country’s legal framework governing the operations of credit unions, laying the foundation for a level playing field for credit unions to facilitate increased access to financing for underserved Ukrainians.

Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions (WFCU) tapped its Ukrainian Credit Union Displacement Fund for $500,000 to launch a new credit union lending program aimed at assisting vulnerable populations and boosting sustainable development in Ukraine.

World Council’s Credit for Agriculture Producers (CAP) Project in March completed its effort to upgrade the websites of both Ukrainian credit union associations, two central credit unions and 49 individual credit unions in Ukraine.

USAID extended World Council of Credit Unions’ Credit for Agriculture Producers Project through September 2024, providing an additional 18 months to support Ukrainian credit unions in wartime, so they can continue to serve communities, and provide access to savings and agricultural loans.

The World Council of Credit Unions will host a webinar with the Regional Credit Union Center for Central and Eastern Europe with an update on how national credit union associations surrounding Ukraine have been able to help, and what their plans are both during the war and in the post-war reconstruction.

Credit unions across Illinois have provided more than $110,000 for a variety of humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine. Donations to the Illinois Credit Union Foundation’s Ukraine Fund--including $25,000 in matching funds from Envisant--will go to the Selfreliance Foundation Ukraine Relief Fund.

World Council of Credit Unions’ Credit for Agriculture for Producers’ Project managed to make strides during the second quarter of FY2022 despite the Feb 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine, while putting some activities on hold due to the ongoing war.

The largest credit union in Poland is spending its time and money to provide all Ukrainian refugees in the country with easier access to its financial products and services, while assisting some with free housing and schooling as well.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has forced 18% of Ukraine's economy to completely shut down, resulting in a national loss of more than US $600 billion to date, Oleksandr Plodysti, Ukraine's Consul General to Gdansk, Poland, relayed to World Council of Credit Unions.