Elevations Credit Union, in conjunction with Canvas Credit Union, hosted Ireland-based Core Credit Union Ltd. to explore strategy and best business practices during a three-day exchange—coordinated with the assistance of World Council of Credit Unions' President and CEO Brian Branch.
Mutual challenges face the Irish and U.S. credit union systems. In response, the World Council, through its Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions and the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU), offers an Irish-American Exchange program designed to align need and expertise on both sides of the Atlantic to address short- and long-term challenges.
The goal of this particular exchange was focused on improving credit unions from both countries through communication and partnership.
“Core Credit Union Ltd. has grown rapidly in the previous few years. When helping to identify who would most benefit from this type of collaboration, the credit union seemed like a natural fit,” noted Branch.
The exchange specifically focused on:
- lending.
- technology growth.
- regulatory investment and finance.
- governance.
Leaders from all three credit unions—and board members from Elevations and Canvas—participated in the numerous briefings on strategy and business model.
“This was a unique opportunity to work with credit unions who operate in different environments. I'm thrilled with how much each organization gained from this experience and know that our membership will prosper from the wisdom shared. Co-hosting Core Credit Union Ltd. with Canvas Credit Union gave us the chance to absorb insight into their operations, while sharing our knowledge on growth and other important topics relevant to the credit union. We are excited to continue the multi-year mutual exchange of information between our three organizations,” stated Gerry Agnes, Elevations President and CEO.
"I'm really jazzed today," said Todd Marksberry, Canvas Credit Union's President and CEO. "Collaboration is one of the many gifts of our industry. Credit unions talk about collaboration a lot. We need to put our words into action even more often. This week, we did just that. I can feel the energy radiating from our Canvas leaders today. We love to learn and believe it is our mandate to serve and share. We are grateful to Core and Elevations' teams for helping each of our organizations get better. We aim to transform financial services. We can bring that dream to life more quickly together than we would alone."
