Expanded CU Powers Sought

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - Still feeling the pain from spiraling inflation here two years ago, the Dominican Republic is looking to expand powers for credit unions as part of the solution to problems in retail finance. Representatives from the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) and and the Asociación de Instituciones Rurales de Ahorro y Crédito (AIRAC) in the Dominican Republic met with the representatives of the country’s government, the Central Bank and the Superintendency of Banks to discuss development of a formal credit union regulatory framework. According to WOCCU, the reforms follow the Dominican Republic’s financial sector crisis of 2003-2004, when inflation rose to 43%.

“As a result, the government has been implementing a series of changes in the financial sector, the heart of which is a proposed law to ensure proper supervision for all entities,” WOCCU said. If passed, the new law would allow CUs to modernize and expand services as well as offer government-backed deposit insurance. Credit unions in the Dominican Republic would also join the ranks of movements in Belize, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados, all of which are in the process of migrating to Central Bank supervision.

WOCCU said it completed a detailed diagnostic of five credit unions in the Dominican Republic. The results indicated a great need for credit union inclusion in the Superintendency of Banks’ new legislation and supervision.

In addition, the Wisconsin Credit Union League signed an international partnership agreement with AIRAC earlier this year. (c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com