PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil - WOCCU is helping leaders from global credit union movements challenged by slow membership growth to explore the successful growth strategies of the Brazilian credit union movement. The Confederação Interestadual das Cooperativas Ligadas ao, better known as SICREDI, one of the country’s largest credit union systems, has averaged 15% membership growth and 30% asset growth annually for the past five years.
"The remarkable and sound growth of the SICREDI credit union system merits study by other national systems,” said WOCCU EVP Brian Branch. “The success of SICREDI’s centralized system of staff incentives, which are based on each credit union maintaining financial performance while hitting aggressive growth targets, has lessons for us all.”
Branch is leading an international delegation studying how SICREDI maintains such impressive growth rates. WOCCU noted SICREDI has successfully established a branded image of financial soundness, service quality and community outreach that has enabled its CUs to outstrip the banks’ growth in Brazil. SICREDI has 129 member CUs and 1.2 million members.
