CASTRIES, St. Lucia - He originally set out for Kenya, but civil strife in that country led him to the island of St. Lucia instead, where his work with credit unions is now being lauded. “He” is Steven Lutz, senior VP/CFO with GECU in El Paso, Texas, who spent a month volunteering on the Caribbean island helping CUs address delinquency issues and adapt to changes in the island’s economy.
“St. Lucia’s credit unions epitomize the credit union philosophy of ‘people helping people’,“ Lutz, a 30-year GECU veteran, told the World Council of Credit Unions. “They offer two products–savings accounts and loans–and these services are delivered face-to-face by employees who do what’s in the best interest of the member sitting across from them. It was inspiring to see the credit union mission alive and well.“
WOCCU said Lutz’s efforts also helped lay the groundwork for strengthening St. Lucia CUs’ capabilities in agricultural lending, part of a larger initiative that WOCCU is undertaking in conjunction with OAS Staff FCU, and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, one of the CU’s select employee groups. Lutz’s activities helped form the vanguard of a combined effort to help stabilize St. Lucia’s credit unions to better serve rural farmers faced with an island economy evolving toward a stronger tourism industry.
WOCCU said St. Lucia has 19 credit unions serving nearly 60,000 people, approaching half the island nation’s population. Lutz worked with three credit unions ranging in size from $3 million to $44 million in assets. One of the opportunities Lutz identified was in the area of collections.(c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved.http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com
