2024 Leaders’ Declaration recognizes importance of sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth

The G20 in its Brazil Leaders’ Declaration released this week recognized “the significant role of financial inclusion in improving financial wellbeing” and committed “to harness the potential of digital and emerging technologies to reduce inequalities”.  

Those are positions World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) International Advocacy urged the G20 to take to enable credit unions and other financial cooperatives to provide underserved populations with greater access to financial products and services.  

The G20 Brazilian Presidency released the Leaders’ Declaration at its Summit in Rio de Janeiro, which emphasized the Group of 20’s commitment to fair agreements that promote global economic and social development and the reduction of inequality worldwide under the theme “Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet”. 

“Having the G20 promote financial inclusion is a key priority for WOCCU and our member organizations, because it allows us to better advocate that national-level regulators should apply international financial standards proportionally for credit unions who have a long history of filling critical gaps in the financial services market and improving financial inclusion when they have the proper regulatory framework. Proportional regulations reduce compliance burdens and allow credit unions to offer more financial products and services to underserved populations in the communities they serve,” said Erin O’Hern, WOCCU International Advocacy and Regulatory Counsel. “The G20s stated commitment to harness digital technologies to reduce inequalities also reinforces our credit unions’ mission to bridge the digital divide among vulnerable populations and allow them to access dignified financial services.” 

This marks the second consecutive year the G20 has heeded WOCCU’s call to address financial inclusion in its Leaders’ Declaration.  

India’s G20 Presidency in 2023 specifically embraced proportionality included in the newly adopted sustainability disclosures issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).