CUNA International (USA) undergoes basic restructuring during its annual meeting, resulting in the formation of World Council. Shortly after the meeting, U.S. Credit Union National Association, Inc. (CUNA), the National Association of Canadian Credit Unions (NACCU) and the Australian Federation of Credit union Leagues, Ltd. (AFCUL) were accepted as members of World Council. New regional federations were also forming in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Far East.

World Council of Credit Unions is incorporated in November 1970.

On Jan. 1, World Council of Credit Unions officially begins operations at the Filene House in Madison, Wis., USA, representing 40 million members of 56,000 credit unions in more than 70 countries.

The Texas Credit Union League becomes the first U.S. league to support a WOCCU program in Mexico.

Herb Wegner becomes managing director (1972-75)

First use of "WOCCU" in publications.

WOCCU commits to "stimulating credit union development where the potential for technical or financial assistance looks favorable." Priorities are to extend credit union services through directed agricultural production credit programs and a global interlending system between credit unions.

A.A. "Paddy" Bailey, a Jamaican, becomes managing director (1975-83)

CUNA International Foundation becomes Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions.

WOCCU attains United Nations observer status, giving credit unions a voice among the U.N. General Assembly.

WOCCU relocates Credit Union Center in Madison, Wis., USA.

WOCCU sponsors a two-part program on women entrepreneurs and credit during the World Conference of the U.N. Decade for Women in Copenhagen.

CUNA's Global Projects Office and staff in Washington, D.C., merge with WOCCU, fully integrating resources and centralizing management in Madison.

Howard Helman becomes CEO (1981-82)

Al Charbonneau, a Canadian, becomes CEO (1983-93)

WOCCU drafts 10 international credit union operating principles based partly on the Rochdale principles, which guided the first financial cooperatives in England.

A USAID-funded Guatemala program spawns WOCCU's model credit union building approach, which emphasizes institutional building through savings mobilization rather than the infusion of credit and share-based lending.

WOCCU publishes its first book, The Central Finance Facility, a guide to developing and operating a "credit union for credit unions."

WOCCU helps develop credit unions in the Islamic country of Niger, beginning with basic literacy and numeracy training for credit union staff.

WOCCU responds to a request from the Solidarity movement to develop credit unions in Poland and adopts a Central European Policy for development in the region.

PEARLS monitoring system debuts, the first in a series of WOCCU financial tools for credit unions.

WOCCU's triennial forum held in Madison, Wis., the first time in the United States. Attendees are hosted in local homes.

Chris Baker, an integral player in WOCCU's early development  as part of the Global Projects Office, becomes CEO (1993-2000)

WOCCU brings its model credit union building approach to Africa.

A "Content Guide" in English, Spanish and French provides the first international framework for credit union legislation. It is the precursor to Model Law for Credit Unions, first published in 2000.

The People-to-People program comes to life, connecting credit union professionals through international internships and volunteer assignments. It is the forerunner to WOCCU's International Partnerships Program.

PEARLS and Business Plan tools integrate into a computerized software package.

WOCCU establishes its first "worldwide web homepage."

A program in the Philippines fuses the model credit union building approach with financial education to bring credit union outreach to the very poor. Forms of the methodology are later transferred to Ecuador and Peru.

IRnet^® debuts, making low-cost international money transfers possible through credit unions. It is WOCCU's first for-profit venture through the newly established WOCCU Services Group (WSG).

WOCCU creates the first credit union rating agency in Guatemala.

Arthur Arnold becomes CEO (2000-04)

WOCCU Supporters Program formalizes at the Credit Union Forum in Nashville, Tenn., USA. Credit Union Executive Society becomes the first WOCCU Supporter with a donation of US$10,000.

At WOCCU's initiative, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision convenes financial cooperatives for the first time to discuss the new capital adequacy framework proposed for Basel II.

WOCCU's Young Credit Union People (WYCUP) program begins, honoring young credit union leaders on an international stage.

Credit union field officers begin trekking into remote, marginalized communities to bring financial services to the poor through WOCCU's new Semilla Cooperativa [cooperative seed] methodology.

WOCCU helps establish a representation office in Brussels and organizes the European Network of Credit Unions in 2009.

Pete Crear, a long-time CUNA executive, becomes president & CEO (2005-11)

The annual International Leadership Institute and triennial Credit Union Forum become the inaugural World Credit Union Conference in Rome, Italy.

More than 20 financial cooperative regulators form the International Credit Union Regulators' Network.

Credit unions first use personal digital assistants (PDAs) to improve financial service delivery in rural Mexico.

South Africa and Kenya become the first English-speaking African countries to pass credit union-specific laws.

World Council established the Global Women’s Leadership Network to tackle our industry’s gender gap while also leveraging resources to strengthen the economic security of women and their families. The Global Women’s Leadership Network is the industry's only international platform dedicated to addressing and facilitating greater gender balance among leadership positions. 

WOCCU establishes the first credit union-owned data services bureau for small credit unions in Kenya.

Executive Vice President & COO Brian Branch, a 21-year WOCCU veteran, becomes president & CEO. (2011-2021)

Established in response to new international regulatory standards put in place after the global financial crisis of 2007-2011, the Global Advocacy Program represents credit unions before international standard setting bodies, such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, Financial Action Task Force and the Financial Stability Board. Many of the new standards were set for large international banks—not credit unions. We work to mitigate the impact of these standards before they are handed down to national regulators and become a regulatory burden for our members.

Credit unions launched a global funding program to buy land and build a new Busia Compassionate Centre campus. A home for HIV/AIDS orphans in western Kenya, the Centre could now offer fresh air, clean water, gardens, space for animals and a place to play. 

World Council challenged its membership to add 50 million new credit union members by 2020—with a specific focus on young adults. Credit unions redesigned financial service offerings for the safe and productive transition from youth to adulthood, improving economic capacity and prospects. Global credit union membership grew by 50 million, reaching 260 million members by the end of 2017—three years ahead of schedule.

With funding from USAID, WOCCU launches Haiti HOME. Providing incentives to local developers to create model housing communities, and to banks and credit unions to provide financing options, HOME introduces some of the first popularly available mortgage offerings for low- and middle-income Haitians.

Anne Cochran, President/CEO of the Louisiana Credit Union League, becomes first woman elected World Council Board Chair.

Funded by USAID, the Credit for Agriculture Producers (CAP) Project creates a more transparent legal and regulatory environment for credit unions in Ukraine. The project worked to improve services to credit unions, expand agricultural finance and increase credit union liquidity.

Funded by Colombia's Banca de las Oportunidades program, the project aimed to help Colombians impacted by the social and economic crisis in Venezuela—ultimately delivering financial services to more than 250,000 people.

This USAID-funded project supports the financial inclusion strategy of Haiti’s Central Bank’s (BRH) to ensure the greatest possible access to savings, credit, and other financial products and services. The goal is to reduce income inequality, creating a more economically-inclusive society.

Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions' Board of Directors is established. The Foundation hires a full-time, dedicated staff and offers a broader range of options—including expanded fundraising, field engagement, business development, disaster relief and storytelling efforts. 

Funded by USAID, the Technology and Innovation for Financial Inclusion (TIFI) project is seeking to develop a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Lending Toolkit to increase the income and welfare of small entrepreneurs in Kenya and Burkina Faso.

Vision 2020 was a success due to some credit union systems offering robust online and mobile channels of service as a way to grow membership. Our new challenge is to bring everyone up to that level, through the digitization of the global credit union system by 2025.

This USAID-funded activity connects Venezuelan migrants and vulnerable local populations in Peru and Ecuador to formal financial services, employment and entrepreneurship. Launched in 2020, it was renewed in 2023 for another three years.

Elissa McCarter LaBorde, bringing more than 20 years of experience leading organizations in delivering financial services to underserved communities across the globe, becomes the first woman to serve as World Council's President and CEO.

In response to Russia's full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions establishes the Ukrainian Credit Union Displacement Fund to help to mitigate both the short- and long-term impacts to Ukraine's credit union system and those who look to it for support, including both employees and members.

Ukraine's parliament passed a law updating the country’s legal framework governing the operations of credit unions, laying the foundation for a level playing field for them in the financial services market. WOCCU International Advocacy and the Credit for Agriculture Producers (CAP) Project were integral in developing and advocating for the legal reforms.

WOCCU Membership opens to national credit union or cooperative associations in countries where there is already a WOCCU Direct Member organization. They become eligible for Associate Member status, as do credit unions in countries without an existing Direct Member. CUSOs and other industry partners are now recognized as Supporting Members.