August 10: Ramune and Karen meet with their Mongolian CU

Ramune Jonusonis

Today was a busy day.

I went into the meeting with the “management group” of the credit union this morning without knowing what to expect. There was a short introduction by one of the Board’s representatives, after which Karen and I essentially had the floor.

We asked many questions in our attempt to get a better understanding of how this particular CU functions and where they feel they need help. As it turns out, they were hoping that our consultancy would be more of a formal training session for their Board, lending committee and supervisory council.

But, without a set agenda in front of me, I found it hard to gather my thoughts and ask specific questions that flowed with some sort of theme.

Luckily, Karen was seasoned enough from last year's experiences and did most of the talking at the outset. I became more comfortable later in the afternoon, but still took a backseat – allowing Karen to navigate the overarching themes.

Essentially, there are some difficulties which the credit union is facing – because of their circumstances in Ugtaal. For one thing, they have a lot of cash to work with. But since the majority of their members are “financially capable”, they do not have much loan demand.

Nonetheless, Karen and I have already begun thinking of some of the recommendations we can make.

Tomorrow, we meet the membership…

-- Ramune Jonusonis