DR cooperatives move 3% of GDP, and have assets equal to 7% of banks
They feel that regulation is "very weak" and based on obsolete laws
Edwin Ruiz
SD. The cooperative movement in the country does not appear identified in the national accounts nor is it set apart (itemized) as a sector of origin in the composition of the gross domestic product. Simply its added value is diluted in the Dominican economy.
But it is there, and its impact on the economy is undeniable, although it is not seen in the statistics. To date it is estimated that the assets of the 685 cooperatives which operate in the country amount to a value equivalent to US$1.938 billion, which is the equivalent to a 7% slice of the total assets of the national financial system, according to information revealed by Cuna Mutual Group. In national currency, the total assets of the cooperatives amount to RD$84.2 billion, which represents 3% of GDP in 2014.
Cuna Mutual Group is a provider of financial services in the world environment, and is committed exclusively towards the market of cooperatives, with its "primary nitche" being those of savings and loans.
In this country, these financial cooperatives amount to 88 that are registered, according to Ruben Bonilla, the general manager in the Dominican Republic of Cuna Mutual Group. The same as his clients, Cuna is a mutualist company, which is defined as "nonprofit, not charity, but to serve."
Bonilla reports that in the Dominican Republic they serve 680,223 associates of cooperatives. This number represents 51% of the total associates in the 685 financial cooperatives which operate in the country and that together make up 1,305,632 Dominicans as members.
Cuna Mutual arrived in the Dominican Republic in 1951 under the guidance of Father Pablo Stelle, the founder of the Dominican cooperative movement.
Since then it offers insurance policies which cover the loans that the cooperatives facilitate to their members. In the case of a failure to pay, Cuna Group guarantees the return of the funds. "There is a saying which says that "the debt dies with the debtor." In other words if the debtor dies, the debt dies," says Bonilla. He stresses that this insurance service provides tranquility to the cooperatives and to the families of the debtor.
Regarding the issue of the transparency of the sector, he says that there are many cooperatives that are quite transparent. But he adds: "We have been insisting that there should be better regulation of the sector." And he estimates that the regulations of the sector are very out of date and surpassed, with a "very weak" set of regulations.
Cuna Mutual Group
Cuna Mutual Group was founded by the pioneers of the cooperative movement in 1935 in the United States. At the present time it operates in 34 countries where it serves 128 million members, issuing more than 500,000 policies. Its yearly income, as of 30 December 2014, amounts to US $3.4 billion, and it has assets of US $17.5 billion. In 2014 it was graded by the Ethisphere Institute as "one of the most ethical companies in the world."
But it is there, and its impact on the economy is undeniable, although it is not seen in the statistics. To date it is estimated that the assets of the 685 cooperatives which operate in the country amount to a value equivalent to US$1.938 billion, which is the equivalent to a 7% slice of the total assets of the national financial system, according to information revealed by Cuna Mutual Group. In national currency, the total assets of the cooperatives amount to RD$84.2 billion, which represents 3% of GDP in 2014.
Cuna Mutual Group is a provider of financial services in the world environment, and is committed exclusively towards the market of cooperatives, with its "primary nitche" being those of savings and loans.
In this country, these financial cooperatives amount to 88 that are registered, according to Ruben Bonilla, the general manager in the Dominican Republic of Cuna Mutual Group. The same as his clients, Cuna is a mutualist company, which is defined as "nonprofit, not charity, but to serve."
Bonilla reports that in the Dominican Republic they serve 680,223 associates of cooperatives. This number represents 51% of the total associates in the 685 financial cooperatives which operate in the country and that together make up 1,305,632 Dominicans as members.
Cuna Mutual arrived in the Dominican Republic in 1951 under the guidance of Father Pablo Stelle, the founder of the Dominican cooperative movement.
Since then it offers insurance policies which cover the loans that the cooperatives facilitate to their members. In the case of a failure to pay, Cuna Group guarantees the return of the funds. "There is a saying which says that "the debt dies with the debtor." In other words if the debtor dies, the debt dies," says Bonilla. He stresses that this insurance service provides tranquility to the cooperatives and to the families of the debtor.
Regarding the issue of the transparency of the sector, he says that there are many cooperatives that are quite transparent. But he adds: "We have been insisting that there should be better regulation of the sector." And he estimates that the regulations of the sector are very out of date and surpassed, with a "very weak" set of regulations.
Cuna Mutual Group
Cuna Mutual Group was founded by the pioneers of the cooperative movement in 1935 in the United States. At the present time it operates in 34 countries where it serves 128 million members, issuing more than 500,000 policies. Its yearly income, as of 30 December 2014, amounts to US $3.4 billion, and it has assets of US $17.5 billion. In 2014 it was graded by the Ethisphere Institute as "one of the most ethical companies in the world."
Edwin Ruiz
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