The World Council of Credit Unions urged the G20 to adopt language in this year’s Leaders’ Declaration to embrace proportionality that can enable credit unions as community based financial institutions to address financial inclusion around the world.  This year’s Summit under Brazil’s Group of Twenty (G20) Presidency focuses on the theme “Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet.”  This theme highlights the world’s commitment to fair agreements that promote global economic and social development and the reduction of inequality worldwide.

To that end, World Council notes that policies conducive to increasing financial literacy and consumer protection, reducing financial exclusion, bridging the digital divide among many groups, and reducing inequalities are key to an equitable future.  Specifically, the connection between proportionality an enabling non-profit, community based financial institutions can play a critical role in accomplishing these goals.

World Council notes that a barrier to the proportional tailoring of regulations often occurs at the national level.  Thus, the requested language in the Leaders’ Declaration urges international standard setting bodes such as the Financial Stability Board to work with various agencies on the implementation of proportionality that is often already imbedded in global standards.

World Council has made this a priority of its advocacy efforts joining with many of its G20 members to urge their respective finance ministers to support this effort.  The G20 has heeded World Council’s call to address financial inclusion in past years declarations and specifically last year where they embraced proportionality included in the newly adopted sustainability disclosures issued by the International Sustainability Standards. 

This year’s Summit will occur later this year in November.  A copy of the letter can be viewed here.