During the 2015 Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC), hosted by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) in Washington, D.C., from March 8 – 11, NCBA CLUSA and its partners will demonstrate the value of cooperation among cooperatives.
In a March 10 breakout session called, “The Business Case for Building Relationships with Other Cooperatives,” meeting in Room 206 of the Washington Convention Center, attendees can expect to hear the results of research examining how credit unions can benefit from developing business relationships with other types of co-ops.
The CUNA Cooperative Alliances Committee recently partnered with NCBA CLUSA, the National Credit Union Foundation and the Filene Research Institute to study the potential economic benefit credit unions could gain by developing more diverse business relationships.
In 2014, non-financial cooperatives in the U.S. held approximately $300 billion in assets. These cooperatives span a broad variety of sectors and could benefit from broadening their sources of credit and financial services. As cooperatives themselves, credit unions are a natural fit to serve the financial needs of co-ops.
Funded by a grant from the Foundation, Filene Research conducted the study and will announce the results during this breakout session. Attendees will have the opportunity to strategize on how credit unions can best use these results after the presentation.
Moderated by Mark Cummins, president and CEO of the Minnesota Credit Union Network and chair of the CUNA Cooperative Alliances Committee, the session will feature the following panelists:
• Lois Kitsch, National Program Director, National Credit Union Foundation
• Ben Rogers, Research Director, Filene Research Institute
• Pat Sterner, Chief Operating Officer, NCBA CLUSA
Also at GAC, NCBA CLUSA will host a booth in space 230 of the exhibit hall, adjacent to the general session room. With nearly 1,000 exhibitors representing more than 200 companies, GAC boasts the largest conference and exhibit hall in the financial services industry.
The exhibit hall opens on Sunday, March 8, with an expo preview and reception from 6 to 8 p.m.