The League of Southeastern Credit Unions is working with the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) and the Federación de Cooperativas de Ahorro y Credito de Costa Rica (FEDEAC) to build the foundation for a second-tier credit union organization to handle liquidity in Costa Rica. The partnership is also working on deepening its six credit union-to-credit union partnerships in which an Alabama credit union is directly partnered with a Costa Rican counterpart. In 2010, the program expanded to include Florida credit unions.

The League of Southeastern Credit Unions is working with the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) and the Federación de Cooperativas de Ahorro y Credito de Costa Rica (FEDEAC) to build the foundation for a second-tier credit union organization to handle liquidity in Costa Rica. The partnership is also working on deepening its six credit union-to-credit union partnerships in which an Alabama credit union is directly partnered with a Costa Rican counterpart. In 2010, the program expanded to include Florida credit unions.

Fourteen representatives of four Costa Rican credit unions spent International Credit Union Week 2011 in Birmingham. The study tour participants included eight Board members and six employees. During their week in Birmingham, they met with the management teams of America’s First Federal Credit Union, eCO Credit Union, Alabama Telco Credit Union and Mutual Savings Credit Union.

Throughout the week, the participants gained knowledge on how credit unions operate in the U.S., including information on regulation, the corporate credit union system, Board governance, the shared branching network, attracting younger members, utilizing alternate delivery channels such as mobile banking, marketing and branding, incentive plans, and innovative products and services. The study tour also included an overview of the services offered by the League of Southeastern Credit Unions and the cooperative image campaign.

Credit unions represented on the study tour were:

• Coopenae is the largest credit union in Costa Rica and serves a community-based field of members but originally served teachers. The credit union has $650 million in assets, 76,000 members, 375 employees and 19 branches.
• Coopeassemblea is the credit union for the legislative assembly (Costa Rican Congress). The credit union has $2 million in assets, 650 members and seven employees.
• Coopeservidores serves government/public sector employees and has a closed field of membership. The credit union has $480 million in assets, 60,000 members, 400 employees and 26 branches.
• Coopealianza has an open field of membership and offices throughout Costa Rica. The credit union has $240 million in assets, 140,000 members, 500 employees and 50 branches.