On December 8th, 2012, the 30th Anniversary of the UIBE Business School and the 8th Annual International Business Ethics Conference has been hold in the Lecture Hall on 3rd Floor of Chengxin Building in UIBE. Themed on “Economic Disparities and International Business Ethics”, this conference was jointly held by the UIBE Business School, the Center for International Business Ethics at UIBE, and the Center for Multinational Companies Studies at UIBE. Hundreds of experts and distinguished guests from China and abroad attended the conference.
 
Mr. Andrew So is the Founding President of the Asian Confederation of Credit Unions, and was a Board member of the World Council of Credit Unions, Inc. He served over 20 years as the International Vice President for Asia and Africa of the CUNA Mutual Group of the International Credit Union System. During the conference, based on his years of working experience and current situation of Credit Unions, Mr. Andrew So made his address on Credit Unions: Subordination of Business Techniques to Ethical Ideas. He gave a detailed introduction of the development and influence of the International Credit Union, as well as some personages who were dedicated to the development of Credit Unions in their countries.
 
At the beginning, Mr. So introduced that the service of Credit Unions mainly carry out in Asia, Africa, the Atlantic and other regions. Humorously he said the slogan used in North America is: “I am Your Credit Union-If you are not satisfied with your banks or other financial institutions, try Credit Union!”. This demonstrates the credibility of Credit Union to people at present. He also emphasized that is a non-profitable agency.
 
Mr. So reiterated the importance of Credit Unions in current society. He said: “Credit Unions are recognized as a dynamic force for economic and social development and have shown significant values in both developing and emerging nations.”He also introduced the influence of Credit Unions in Asia. He mentioned thatthe Asian Confederation of Credit Unions was formed in 1971, and has exerted influence on more than 37.8 thousand people in 23 Asian countries. As well as that one of the founders of the Asian Confederation of Credit Unions is Taiwan. They hope to help the confederation to increase public awareness about cooperation and their contributions to socio-economic development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
 
With the introduction from Mr. So, audiences have a general knowledge of Credit Unions. He also made a conclusion of Credit Unions: “basically the Credit Union is member-oriented and encourages self-help and mutual help, which can’t be realized by small credit groups. The organizational structure of credit unions is decided by their own members who benefit from each other through cooperative efforts.”“We put our savings together and the money can be loaned to members who need it. Therefore, credit is quite important. A1%monthly interest rate is set for loans given to members. This is a process of standardization.”This explanation gave the audience a basick nowledge aboutCredit Unions.
 
Then, Mr. So introduced pioneers who were committed to the development of Credit Unions in the world. He first mentioned Mr. Rossy Dell, who started a campaign and a cooperative organization for consumers in Britain. The second is Mr. Friedrich in Germany, who is recognized as the “Father of Credit Unions”. During the famine in Germany, Mr. Friedrich helped the poor with the money from the rich and people got mutual help from each other, which is the goal of Credit Unions. The third is Mr. Edward A. Fiene, who introduced Credit Unions to the U.S. The last is Mr. Coady, who provided trainings to leaders in Canadian Credit Unions and cooperatives.

In the last part of the speech, Mr. So reiterated that “Credit Unions are run by member countries and the Association of Asian Credit Union is the first organization to grant small sum loans in Asia.” He also emphasized that “As a great mission, cooperation brings welfare and harmony to people, making them more organized. In Credit Unions, ethics play the dominant role and operation must be ethic-oriented. Such is the main difference between Credit Unions and other organizations.” 

The topic received great response from the audience. In the Q&A part, reporters and guests asked many questions which Mr. Andrew So answered patiently. The speech concluded in a warm applause.
  
 
Intern reporter: Yang Jingjing