The third panel of the first day revolved around cooperative finance as a driver of alliances, inclusion and integration opportunities.
The presentation was given by the President of the Regional Committee of Financial Cooperatives and Cooperative Banks (COFIA), Rodrigo Silva, who reviewed the tasks of this sectoral organization and conveyed the commitment to regional cooperativism sent by the Minister of Economy of Chile, Nicolás Grau, who highlighted in a detailed and timely manner the framework of action and the joint work with the sector of the social and solidarity economy in that country.
Silva also referred to the Cofia's framework of action at a regional level, pointing out restrictions and inequalities in terms of regulations and access to financing in certain countries.
«In no geography in America can there be these types of regulatory restrictions. All financial cooperatives must be able to offer the same products and services, for example having access to central banks and having state deposit guarantees.
The president of Cofia called for public policies that allow the development of the business model of cooperative banks and financial cooperatives, "with excellence and high impact on the different societies of our continent."
Next, the president of IDECOOP, from the Dominican Republic, Franco De Los Santos, shared their national experiences; and José Francisco Ramírez Ávila, from the Cooperativa Alianza (Mexico), respectively showing examples and effects in the territory, of the regulations and normative frameworks of cooperativism, in order to promote cooperative activity and provide a favorable environment for their operation. respecting the cooperative identity.
This important panel was attended by the President of the International Cooperative Banking Association (ICBA) of the global ACI, Bhima Subrahmanyam, who made a strong and repeated call to increase integration into that global organization from the Region of the Americas. .
Mr. Bhima Subrahmanyam on the eve of the Regional Conference, in the institutional framework of the meeting of the Board of Directors of Cooperatives of the Americas, was recognized for his visit and friendship with the Region of the Americas.
Through the different testimonies, the cooperative differential was clear when it came to mobilizing financial resources that allow development with territorial impact, at local, national, regional and even global levels and Ms. Carla Decker, second vice president of Cooperatives of the Americas, reaffirmed this differential, giving a regional vision of the cooperative impact on the territory.
"As financial cooperatives we are a public good, aimed at creating a solidarity economy for the benefit of all people," concluded Decker.
