At the 2025 Caribbean Confederation of Credit Unions (CCCU) annual international convention, director of the Financial Intelligence Unit of T&T Nigel Stoddard played a key role in shaping the conversation around compliance and governance.
He led a breakout session titled, ‘Board Oversight in Compliance: Strengthening AML/CFT Governance in Credit Unions,’ which focussed on enhancing board-level accountability in anti-money laundering (AML) and combatting the financing of terrorism (CFT) practices.
The convention which took place from June 21 to 24, was held at the Paradisus Hotel, Dominican Republic.
With over two decades of experience in financial intelligence and a deep commitment to AML and CFT, Stoddard detailed how credit union boards must evolve from passive overseers to proactive guardians of integrity, emphasising transparency, risk management and a culture of ethical leadership.
He highlighted the need to engage in effective oversight to protect credit unions from emerging trends in fraud and suspicious activity as he cited the work of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and its role in providing guidance to over 100 countries.
Stoddard said the FATF set standards, emphasising that recommendations are also converted into national laws and regulations as guidance, adding that countries are expected to comply.
He reminded participants they have a responsibility to monitor the environment and to become familiar with these matters so they may be appropriately prepared to respond in real-time should the organisation be confronted with money laundering, fraud, proliferation financing or other related illegal activities.
Stoddard further stressed that failure to comply with standards of the FATF or the country’s AML/CFT/CPF laws may lead to fines in excess of $250,000 in some cases, prison terms or other forms of sanctions, noting that non-compliance may also lead to stricter regulatory scrutiny and reputational loss.
In this regard, he said the credit union board of directors is ultimately responsible for ensuring that a sound compliance regime exists and it must also ensure that a compliance officer is appointed. The board must also ensure that the credit union is guided by a compliance programme which must address areas of due diligence and enhanced due diligence for its members.
Enhanced due diligence applies to politically exposed members, cash-intensive transactions or other transactions which may be deemed as high risk, he cited.
Further, Stoddard said the board must also adhere to the requirement for mandatory annual training and retraining for its officers and staff and there must be an independent external audit of the compliance portfolio.
While these steps remain critical in protecting credit unions, he stressed the need for assessments to be done on a risk-based approach and not as a one-size-fit-all format, adding that risk-based approaches would allow a better analysis of the members’ business profile and avoid unnecessary delays in the conduct of members’ business.
His session was part of a broader agenda aimed at equipping credit union leaders with tools to navigate regulatory challenges while fostering sustainable growth.
Dianne Joseph, chief operating officer (COO) of the Co-operative Credit Union League endorsed the need for a risk-based approach as necessary, noting that there is a view that some aspects of the laws, if not properly applied, could make the process very difficult for members to conduct business and would exclude many citizens from the formal financial system, forcing them to remain unbanked.
“This we found to be a favourable position and look forward to further pronouncements that will motivate financial institutions to embrace more persons within the financial services sector,” she added.
Citing that T&T and Jamaica are the largest leagues in the region, she said this country has 763,000 credit union members, in excess of 133 credit unions and $19.5 billion assets.
Jamaica, Joseph said, has approximately 1,000,000 members and 25 credit unions.
“I am assured that the global credit union movement of 400 million members across 104 countries and assets of over US$3.6 trillion dollars remains strong and will continue to remain a pillar of strength to those that are underserved,” she added.
Prior to the CCCU convention, on June 5 to 8 the league hosted its 25th annual international leadership conference at the Corendon Hotel, Curacao.
This year’s theme was “The Disruptive Age- Leadership Strategies to survive and thrive.”
In attendance were participants from the international credit union movement in excess of 150, Joseph said.
President of the Central Bank of Curacao and Sint Martin, Richard Doornbosch and Vanessa Tore, Curacao’s director, foreign economic co-operation, Ministry of Economic Development were among key participants.
Doornbosch lauded the work of credit unions and urged participants to continue to embrace strategic planning that would enable these entities to remain resilient.
Noting that credit unions remain a key player in the financial services sector, he said they must be embraced in a manner that allowed them to grow and prosper.
In doing so however, he urged credit unions to be cognisance in the cases where they may want to pursue mergers and amalgamations as he also reminded participants that continuous training and development are paramount and are strategic paths they should continue to follow for further skills development.
Doornbosch added that credit unions must also remain relevant and reiterated the need for financial inclusion to compete in the economic environment which remains somewhat currently uncertain.
Meanwhile, Tore urged credit unions to examine avenues to support SMEs scale-up to a standard that would allow them to not only survive, but to thrive in a competitive market.
She also echoed that credit unions need to remain vigilant and to look at new ways to assist the increasing number of SMEs and entrepreneurs who require financial support and upskilling to help better manage their businesses while adding value to their governance framework.
Tore also pledged her ministry’s support to the continued work of the Co-operative Credit Union League to regional integration, networking and partnership.
Joseph said Tore is expected to visit the league for further talks in the coming months.
She said to strengthen the sector in Curacao, the league signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the closing ceremony on June 7.
Joseph explained the main objective was to promote each other’s products and services and for the league to offer technical and advisory services, capacity building, exchange programmes to pursue fintech solutions and prevention strategies against cybercrimes.