Credit unions worldwide are expanding at a stable pace, with more members being served by more credit unions in 2007 than were served during the previous year, according to findings released this week in World Council of Credit Unions’ (WOCCU) 2007 Statistical Report. Respondents to the annual survey from 96 countries reported that 49,134 credit unions served more than 177 million people worldwide in 2007. In 2006, 46,377 credit unions served slightly more than 172 million members in 97 countries. Credit union assets around the globe grew by 8.2% over the previous year, totaling US$1.2 trillion in 2007, while credit unions managed more than US$900 billion in savings. Africa led asset growth last year with a 37.3% increase. Capitalization levels, a measure of financial soundness, remained strong at 9.8% of total non-risk-adjusted assets in 2007, demonstrating that the international credit union movement is on solid financial footing. Global membership in credit unions grew by 3.1% in 2007 compared to the previous year, with Africa again leading the growth curve in relative terms with 15.1% growth. WOCCU has collected annual statistics on the international credit union movement for the past 35 years to produce its annual Statistical Report. The only source for such comprehensive data on the global credit union movement, WOCCU’s Statistical Report is widely cited by governments, international institutions and analysts. To download a free copy of the current report, visit www.woccu.org/publications/statreport

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21 July 2008
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