Govt. Will Not Seek to Convert Credit Unions – PM

Prime Minister Bruce Golding has emphasized that in any regulation regarding the operations of credit unions, the Government would not seek to convert them into any other kind of institution.
“I spoke with the Ministry of Finance and had discussions with the leadership of the (Credit Union) Movement here. I told the Ministry of Finance that in seeking to create space within that regulatory framework to relate to the credit unions, what we must not do is seek to convert them into any other kind of financial institution,” the Prime Minister said.
Mr. Golding was speaking at the opening of the Caribbean Confederation of Credit Unions (CCCU) 51st Annual International Convention and 37th Annual General Meeting on June 29, at the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort in Ocho Rios.
The four-day event is being held under the theme: ‘One Unified Co-operative Sector for Competitive Advantage’.
The Prime Minister said that in the changing landscape in which the credit unions operate, there are challenges that have to be faced. “One of them we are trying to address right now has to do with the regulatory framework for governing the operation of the credit union movement,” he pointed out.
He commended the CCCU and the Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union League (JCCUL), in particular, for their hard work and achievements over the years. “One of the commendable features about the credit union movement is that, through all these years and despite all of the changes that have taken place in the environment, the movement has remained customer friendly,” Mr. Golding said, stressing that the term ‘customer friendly’ meant more than just being polite. “It means dedicating yourself to the needs of your client and working with the assurance and confidence in knowing that if you solve your clients’ problems, then your problems will be solved as well,” he added.
Pointing to the successes of the JCCUL, Mr. Golding said the League was doing a tremendous job in working with and meeting the needs of the middle and low income earners. He further noted that it was with such works of the JCCUL in mind, that the Government was looking to the League as a vehicle for economic development.
“I hope that in your deliberations you will look at some of the development challenges that we face and see to what extent your own work, your own mission, your own mandate can be calibrated in helping us to address some of those challenges,” he said.