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This web page hosts the Centre’s podcast and other broadcast output, comprising excellent speakers and interviewees offering insights on relevant contemporary topics.
The podcasts are from the Talking Credit Unions podcast series, hosted and produced by Chris Smith and sponsored by the Centre.
All the podcasts are shown below. You can make sure you don’t miss out on new podcasts by subscribing to the series on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or other major podcast platforms: just search “Talking Credit Unions”.
Talking Credit Unions is back: new podcast episode
Chris Smith is back! With a new addition to the Talking Credit Unions podcast series, Chris is joined by Swoboda directors Paul Jones and Nick Money to discuss projects, papers and conferences coming up at the Swoboda Research Centre. Chris speaks with Paul about...
Talking Credit Unions #29: Salary advance schemes – here to stay?
Chris Smith has been investigating salary advance (also known as Earned Wage Access) for the Talking Credit Unions podcast series. Salary advance works like a short-term loan, where a provider enables an employee to draw down a proportion of the current month’s (or...
Talking Credit Unions #28: Credit unions – did they survive the pandemic?
Chris Smith is back, with a podcast that investigates how credit unions have emerged from the pandemic. Chris notes that the past two years have provided the ultimate stress test for the financial, operational, competitive, and cultural resiliency of credit unions,...
Podcast: Ukrainian credit unions and the war
In this Global Credit Union Podcast from the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), “Aleksandr”, a liaison to the Ukrainian credit union movement, talks about the dire circumstances facing both the people of Ukraine and its credit unions. The podcasters are hiding...
2020 interview with Ralph Swoboda
Over Christmas, we at the Swoboda Research Centre will be remembering our deceased colleague, Ralph Swoboda. We miss Ralph’s wit and wisdom, so we were pleased to come across a podcast from August 2020, containing an hour of reflections from Ralph during an...
Talking Credit Unions #26 – Credit unions and problem gambling
Credit unions in Ireland and Great Britain are seeing potentially harmful gambling behaviour in the financial activity of their members. In Britain, the adoption of open banking in the underwriting process has proved a revelation, providing much more information on...
Talking Credit Unions #27 – ‘Save and Sound’ oral history project update
The UK's Credit Union Foundation launched an initiative in 2019 to to collect and preserve the memories of people involved in setting up and running credit unions before 2000 - the Save and Sound project. Through the use of oral history recordings, Save and Sound...
Talking Credit Unions #25 – Do Credit Unions Alleviate Poverty?
Chris Smith asks an important question about the nature and purpose of credit unions: do they alleviate poverty? Is that what they are for? First, Chris asks Dr Paul A Jones, Director at CFCFE and Head of the Research Unit for Financial Inclusion at CFCFE's...
Talking Credit Unions #23 – Fintech Solutions? CU Apps
Podcast download here. Chris Smith explores the opportunity presented by the deployment for credit unions of fully functional smartphone apps, and how this might affect a credit union's traditional, personal relationship with members. Chris interviews Declan...
Talking Credit Unions #22 – Fintech Solutions? Nivo
Podcast download here. Credit unions are increasing utilising apps to deliver services to members, providing features such as secure communications, balance checking and transactions on mobile phones. For some, this was a vital part of their ability to sustain...
Talking Credit Unions #21 Credit Union Development Educator Events – are they magic?
Podcast download here. The Development Educator (DE) programme for credit unions is an extraordinary international endeavour, with a mission to ".... help established and emerging leaders within the credit union movement understand and leverage credit unions’...
Talking Credit Unions #20 Sir Douglas Flint, Just Finance Foundation and Credit Union Boardrooms
Podcast download here. In this episode, Chris interviews Sir Douglas Flint, chair of Standard Life Aberdeen, IP Group and the Corporate board of Cancer Research UK, and a trustee of the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. He was previously Group Chairman of HSBC Holdings...
Talking Credit Unions is chart-topping!
By the end of 2020, the new Talking Politics podcast series produced by Chris Smith and sponsored by CFCFE, had almost 1,500 downloads across every continent around the world*. Now it has hit the top of the podcast charts in Ireland for not-for-profits! Chris Smith...
Talking Credit Unions #19 CFCFE Credit Union Conference 29th March
Podcast download here. Chris Smith asks Nick Money, Director of Development at CFCFE, to introduce the forthcoming conference on Monday 29th March. This is CFCFE's fifth conference, and its second which is online-only. The conference brings together credit union...
Talking Credit Unions #18 First Year as a CEO – an interview with Matt Bland, CEO at Co-op Credit Union
Podcast download here. Matt Bland, formerly Head of Policy at the trade association ABCUL, joined Co-op Credit Union in January 2020. As Matt started his first CEO post, little did he know quite what challenges the year would bring. In conversation with Chris...
Talking Credit Unions #17 Credit Union Mergers – A strategic opportunity?
Podcast download here. Chris interviews Robert Kelly, CEO of ABCUL, on how credit unions might consider approaching 'mergers from strength', as one strategic option for long term sustainability. Credit unions in Ireland have experienced considerable merger activity...
Talking Credit Unions #16 – Time for a new core system?
Podcast download here. Following on from CFCFE's paper on the subject of replacing the core IT system, Chris Smith opens the podcast series in 2021 with by interviewing the author and consultant, Todd Proulx, as well as the CFCFE chair and CUFA Ltd MD, Ralph...
Podcast anniversary!
The CFCFE-sponsored podcast, Talking Credit Unions with Chris Smith, is one year old! there are now 15 podcasts, on topics including diversity in the credit union boardroom, payroll deduction, and the impact of COVID-19 in Ireland and Britain. Chris, a veteran...
Talking Credit Unions #15 – Diversity in the credit union boardroom
2020 has been a year that has renewed focus on diversity in all aspects of society. As co-operative organisations, owned by and serving their members, credit unions should be properly inclusive and representative, whether in their outreach in communities, in the...
Talking Credit Unions #13 – Interest rate caps on lending
It's a busy month for CFCFE's Advisory Panel member Dr Olive McCarthy! In addition to the work on social impact that we have partnered on recently (see this post), Olive has been interviewed by Chris Smith about her work on interest rate caps, high cost credit and...
Talking Credit Unions #12 – Why bother with international credit union projects?
Hard on the heels of last week's review of credit union conferences, Chris Smith releases a new podcast looking at the value of international credit union projects. Chris notes some criticism of the involvement of employees or directors in such initiatives as...
Talking Credit Unions #11 – Credit Union Conference Round-Up
A brief round-up on CFCFE, ABCUL and World Council of Credit Unions conferences. Chris speaks to Nick from CFCFE about our successful event on 22nd September (presentations and videos available on the CFCFE Events page, here),and introduces the ABCUL and WOCCU...
Talking Credit Unions #10 – Trailer for Credit Union Conference, 22 Sept
A brief introduction from Chris Smith and Nick Money to CFCFE's Credit Union Conference on 22 September, where credit union leaders and policymakers from across Ireland and the UK will discuss how to plan ahead in this extraordinary period. This will be a largely...
Talking Credit Unions #9 – Human Resources Specialists: Luxury or Necessity?
How prepared are our credit unions for the possible employment issues that the pandemic has forced onto their businesses? Some of the changes may be positive and some may be relatively painless. However, changing a workforce to suit the new circumstances, or...
Talking Credit Unions #8 – effective management of payroll deduction schemes
Employers are increasingly aware of the benefits of supporting the financial wellbeing of their members, which can include reduced stress and consequent improved productivity. Payroll deduction schemes delivered by credit unions present a way of offering savings...
Talking Credit Unions #7 – COVID-19: The Irish Credit Union Response
Chris Smith talks with Michael Byrne, CEO of Core Credit Union, and Dave McAuley, CEO of Donore Credit Union, CFCFE credit union members from County Dublin and Dublin City respectively. Chris explores with Michael and Dave some of the themes raised in CFCFE's paper...
Talking Credit Unions #6 – British Credit Unions and COVID-19
Another excellent podcast from our good friend Chris Smith. In this episode, we hear the testimony of some British credit union CEOs on the challenges they have faced in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. You can listen to the podcast here. These...
Talking Credit Unions #5 – Matt Bland, CEO of Co-op Credit Union
In another podcast from his Talking Credit Unions series, Chris Smith interviews Matt Bland, CEO of Co-operative Credit Union, a credit union for employees of co-operatives in Great Britain. Formerly Head of Policy & Communications at the Association of British...
Talking Credit Unions #4 – IT with Todd Proulx
Another podcast from Chris Smith's series (#4 already!). This time Chris is talking to Todd Proulx, who presented to the CFCFE Manchester conference in January. Todd is responding to questions from Chris around the options for credit unions for IT, in terms of the...
Talking Credit Unions #3 – Robert Kelly, ABCUL CEO
This week, Chris Smith is in conversation with Robert Kelly, CEO of the Association of British Credit Union Ltd (ABCUL). Robert talks about the importance of the town hall consultations that ABCUL facilitated in 2019, and identifies his biggest challenge in the...
Talking Credit Unions #2 – CFCFE Manchester 2020 conference presenters
Chris Smith's podcast is back with another episode of Talking Credit Unions! You can listen here: Chris Smith is Talking Credit Unions. In this edition, Chris speaks to the presenters at the CFCFE Manchester conference 2020, as well as to some attendees. If you...
Talking Credit Unions #1 – Abbie Shelton on credit union history and Nick Money on CFCFE
Communications professional and long-time credit unionist Chris Smith has launched the UK’s first credit union-focused podcast series, ‘Chris Smith is Talking Credit Unions’. This exciting new addition to the movement’s resources offers interviews with relevant...