Press
World Council of Credit Unions Brings Mexican Delegation to Travis Credit Union
Contact: Shérry Cordonnier, Director of Corporate Relations
Travis Credit Union 707-469-1715
VACAVILLE, CA – How Travis Credit Union’s business practices could help Mexican credit unions prosper was the subject last week when a delegation of Mexican executives spent the day in a series of business seminars at Travis Credit Union.
“Visits like these demonstrate cooperation among credit union organizations and is key to strengthening our industry,” stated Patsy Van Ouwerkerk, president and CEO of Travis Credit Union. The delegation’s willingness to share and exchange knowledge will make for better services offered to our members.”
The group (Alianza Federation), sponsored by the World Council of Credit Unions, came to the United States to learn about risk management, loan underwriting, marketing, and branch operations, among other topics.
Alianza Federation is an alliance of credit unions that have banded together to gain savings by consolidating operations and other services. It represents more than 170 credit union branches and serves more than 350,000 members in Mexico.
“We are here to learn about the tools Travis Credit Union uses. Our credit unions are very young and this is a good opportunity to learn. We want to learn from Travis Credit Union’s experience and promote good relations,” said Ignacio Miranda, head of operations for Credit Union Federation Alianza from central Mexico.
“It was an educational experience meeting with the Mexican delegation,” said Van Ouwerkerk. “They showed a great deal of interest in how we operate here at Travis Credit Union. It was a privilege to participate in this exchange of information and to help in their understanding of our best practices.”
“It was a very educational experience meeting with these professionals from all over the world,” Cummins said. “They came with intelligent questions and showed genuine interest in how our financial system–specifically relating to credit unions–operates in the United States. It was a privilege to participate in this exchange of information and to help in their understanding of the credit union movement in this country.”
“It was a very educational experience meeting with these professionals from all over the world,” Cummins said. “They came with intelligent questions and showed genuine interest in how our financial system–specifically relating to credit unions–operates in the United States. It was a privilege to participate in this exchange of information and to help in their understanding of the credit union movement in this country.”
“It was a very educational experience meeting with these professionals from all over the world,” Cummins said. “They came with intelligent questions and showed genuine interest in how our financial system–specifically relating to credit unions–operates in the United States. It was a privilege to participate in this exchange of information and to help in their understanding of the credit union movement in this country.”
Travis Credit Union provided a learning environment through observation, PowerPoint presentations and group discussions. Topics of discussion included an overview of Travis Credit Union, financial ratios, savings products and services, loan products and services, social responsibility, financial literacy, political advocacy, Hispanic initiatives and community outreach efforts followed by a question and answer segment and a tour of the corporate headquarters in Vacaville.
“We were extremely impressed with the community outreach that Travis Credit Union does in the Latino community. The shared experience we had with them was very important, we can now return to Mexico and share the knowledge we obtained in order to better our organization and further assist in the well being of our members,” said Miranda.
“The Alianza delegation mentioned several times how impressed they were with Travis’ community efforts and the obvious success they’ve achieved through their commitment to excellence,” said Thom Belekevich, World Council of Credit Unions’ representative.
Headquartered in Vacaville, California, Travis Credit Union is a not-for-profit, cooperative financial institution serving those who live or work in Solano, Yolo, Sacramento, Placer, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Napa, Contra Costa, Alameda, Sonoma, Colusa, and Merced Counties. Currently, Travis Credit Union is the 12th largest credit union in California, with more than
175,000 members and $1.8 billion in assets. As one of the leading financial institutions in Solano, Contra Costa, Yolo, Napa, and Merced Counties, Travis Credit Union’s strength lies in its faithful commitment to its members; its solid, secure history; and its long-standing track record of dedicated service.
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. WOCCU works with more than 100 countries and has more than 188 million members, 53 thousand credit unions and $1.5 trillion in assets.