Russians enjoy visit to Slane Credit Union
SLANE Credit Union was delighted to host a delegation from the Russian credit union movement Moldova.
The visiting delegation met with Barbara Markey, Manager and various Board members of Slane Credit Union including Eileen Hogan, Chair and Charles Murphy, current President of Irish League of Credit Unions, to discuss all things credit union. The delegation from Russia comprised of CEOs, Chairs and Accountants from both community and workbased credit unions from five regions in Russia.
The visit to Ireland was organised by the Irish League of Credit Unions International Development Foundation (ILCU Foundation), the charitable arm of the Irish credit union movement. The five-day study visit is an opportunity for the delegation to learn more about various aspects of the Irish credit union movement.
During the visit to Slane Credit Union, Barbara shared the history of Slane Credit Union, and discussions with the delegation centred on a variety of topics including regulation, strategic plans and day-to-day credit union operations.
The discussions were very informative and the delegation now hopes to implement a lot of what they learned in their own credit unions. The delegation also had the opportunity to walk around Slane village and following the discussions Slane Credit Union presented each participant with a bottle of Slane Irish whiskey to mark their visit.
The development of credit unions in Russia began in the late 1990s and today there are almost 2 million credit union members.
Speaking about the visit, Barbara Markey, Manager of Slane Credit Union, said: “it was a great honour for Slane Credit Union to welcome the delegation from Russia to Slane. Credit unions have helped communities like Slane to thrive and it’s great to share this success with credit union movements internationally to help them strengthen their own credit unions.”
Galina Shubina, Chair of Metallist Credit Cooperative and head of the delegation from Russia thanked Slane Credit Union for the warm welcome. She noted that the movement in Russia is small but nevertheless the credit unions are something that Russians need and the visit to Slane is very useful.”
Sinéad Lynam, Engagement Officer with the ILCU Foundation thanked Slane Credit Union for hosting the group and for their support of the ILCU Foundation. “These visits are a fantastic opportunity for the delegation to see and hear firsthand how a successful credit union operates.’