International CU Day meeting at royal residence is good for UK CUs--and the global movement.
By Lisa Hochgraf
HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, right, visited with Marlene Shiels, ICUDE, chief executive of Capital CU, Edinburgh, in 2012.[/caption] It might surprise you to learn that a June BBC news article reported that just 2 percent of the adult population of the United Kingdom belongs to a credit union, while 46 percent of adults in the United States are credit union members. “In the UK, credit unions are still relatively unknown, which creates issues around credibility,” acknowledges Marlene Shiels, ICUDE, chief executive of $50 million (U.S.) Capital Credit Union Limited, Edinburgh. But Shiels has good news. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall's first visit to a credit union--to Capital CU in 2012--spurred her to learn more about, and do more to support, these institutions. “The Duchess was so taken with the work we do, particularly for those with fewer financial choices, she decided to get to know credit unions better,” Shiels says. Shiel’s 25-year-old Capital CU has a community-based membership of 19,000 that covers the East of Scotland (from the Scottish Borders to Angus). “Our main products are savings and loans, mortgages and prepaid debit cards,” Shiels says. “We do not offer checking accounts.” Married to Charles, Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne, since 2005, Camilla Parker Bowles decided to use the title The Duchess of Cornwall, as her husband is also known as The Duke of Cornwall. According to Shiels, The Duchess has continued to learn about and promote credit unions in the UK “by undertaking other visits, meeting with credit union leagues, and visiting and joining her local credit union in London. She is now hosting a reception at Clarence House (her royal residence in London) on International Credit Union Day to spread the word."
Lois Kitsch and Christopher Morris, both CUDEs, facilitate a Credit Union Development Educator Training. Kitsch herself went through the CUDE training in 1986.[/caption] Shiels and Lois Kitsch, CUDE, national program manager for the National Credit Union Foundation's REAL Solutions program, Madison, Wis., will be among the CU leaders at the meeting. Shiels and Kitsch met during the World Council of Credit Unions convention in Ireland in 1994, and reconnected when Kitsch mentored the Credit Union Development Educator training that Shiels attended in 2000. (Watch this video to learn more about the Credit Union Development Educator program.) Shiels appreciates that The Duchess has developed a very good understanding of credit unions and that “we need more people from all walks of life to take part in credit unions and not (as is the case in Britain) be seen as institutions just for people with fewer financial choices.” What's the hope for this special meeting at Clarence House? "Continuing to build support and understanding of credit unions,” Kitsch says. “From that perspective, the event will bring a nice boost to the movement there.” But this is not just about the United Kingdom, Kitsch emphasizes. “This is a global opportunity, in that credit unions around the world are following the same principles and strategies” of being people helping people.
Lisa Hochgraf is a CUES senior editor. Read Credit Union Management magazine articles about Canadian CUs, "Inside Marketing: Marketing up North" and "Inside Marketing: Cooperative Spirit." Download CUES' free report, The Seven Cooperative Principles and Credit Unions That Live Them. Read "Model World Peace on Us" about last year's CCCU and CUES International Convention. CCCU and CUES International Convention will be held in June 2015 in Cancun.
