NEWS AND UPDATES
Innovation with George Hofheimer
The keynote at our Liverpool conference on 21st November 2025 is our regular guest and inspiration George Hofheimer, renowned credit union strategist and founder of Hofheimer Strategy Advisors in the US. George has dedicated his career to helping credit unions...
New podcast: What’s in a name? Why some credit unions are rebranding as community banks
Very timely on International Credit Union Day #ICUDay2025 that we release this new Talking Credit Unions podcast exploring how credit unions market themselves and whether they should aim to be perceived as banks in some way. This episode follows up on the Centre’s...
United Vision for GB credit unions – support from stakeholders
New Economics Foundation (NEF) and Swoboda were delighted on Tuesday 16th September to introduce to fifty stakeholder representatives our United Vision project, which aims to build a vision for how British credit unions can double their impact by 2035. Following on...
United Vision – help shape the future!
The United Vision project has launched a landmark research survey that’s all about the future of credit unions across Britain. The project is being delivered by Swoboda and the New Economics Foundation, and we want to hear from as many credit union people as...
Credit unions and banks: what’s the difference?
Credit unions have long claimed to operate differently from traditional banks. Over a century ago, Alphonse Desjardins described them as economic expressions of a high social ideal—not profit-driven institutions. This paper asks whether that distinction still holds...
Guide for Affordability Assessments
Credit unions play an essential role in British society by offering loans to individuals who may not have access to traditional bank lending, often due to low income or high levels of debt. While credit unions are committed to responsible lending, they have...
United Vision: launch of exciting new initiative for British credit unions
On Tuesday 10th June, credit union leaders and supporters came together in Manchester for the launch of A United Vision, a major new research project from the Swoboda Research Centre and New Economics Foundation (NEF). With credit union growth beginning to plateau...
Irish / Polish Research Collaboration Showcased in Helsinki
International Co-operative Alliance Research Conference - 12th-13th June 2025, University of Helsinki, Finland At the recent ICA Research Conference in Helsinki, Dr Dominik Bierecki (Pomeranian University in Poland and board member of the National Association of...
New podcast reviews Credit Union Conference
In this episode of Talking Credit Unions, Anca Voinea reviews the Swoboda Spring Conference in Dublin, with its focus on major future challenges and opportunities for the credit union movement, including how to engage young people, trends in regulation and the...
Credit Unions and the Insurance Protection Gap: KPMG Report
A new report by KPMG, commissioned by the Aviva Foundation and Fair4All Finance with support from the Swoboda Research Centre, explores how credit unions could help address the UK's insurance protection gap. The research, based on surveys and interviews with 3,000...
Swoboda Credit Union Conference: ‘Future Horizons’ Dublin 23rd May
Swoboda Research Centre hosted its most recent conference, 'Future Horizons: Preparing for What’s Next', on 23rd May 2025 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Blanchardstown, Dublin. Over 100 delegates attended to explore the future direction of credit unions in Ireland...
How Credit Unions are Building Funding – New Research Report!
Swoboda is pleased to publish a new research report 'Fuelling the Mission', commissioned by Fair4All Finance and authored by Dr. Paul A Jones, Nick Money and Christine Moore from Swoboda. This report explores how credit unions across Britain are building the...