The 2018 World Cup in Russia is well under way. People around the world are hoping that their national team will lift the most prestigious prize in competitive sports, and traits such as respect and community are on full display. Likewise, Credit Unions concepts are also acknowledged worldwide, and in 2018 we can see that the idea of a financial alternative to traditional banking that has a focus on serving the community is something that is valued on a global scale.
All Credit Unions can trace their history back to small town in southern Germany, where the first Credit society was formed in 1849 by Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen; a similar concept was adopted by Luigi Luzzatti of Italy; and then eventually, in 1900, to North America with Alphonse Desjardins organized a credit union in Levis, Quebec. These Credit societies evolved into the Credit Unions. The ideas of Credit Union spread south from Canada, and by 1925 15 American states had passed credit union laws. By 1935 in the United States there were 3,372 credit unions were serving 641,800 members.
The influence in North America was such that the Credit Union National Association was created in 1934, and in 1970 it was expanded into the World Council of Credit Unions by incorporating similar associations in Africa, Asia, Oceania, Latin America, and the Caribbean. London Mutual Credit Union had its roots planted in 1982. In 2016, a statistical report shows that 68,882 Credit Unions are operating in 109 countries and serving over 235 million members.
London Mutual Credit Union itself maintains relationships with Credit Unions from across the world including Kenya, China and the USA. Every single hardworking Credit Union around the world proves that the principles that Credit Unions maintain matters to people no matter what country they are in.
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