Ukrainians get banking advice from U. students

After being delayed for several days due to visa problems resulting from the recent coup in the Soviet Union, a group of Ukrainian banking students met yesterday with University Student Federal Credit Union executives to learn about alternative banking methods. The two-hour seminar, which took place in Houston Hall, consisted of a series of presentations from Credit Union leaders about the history and role of credit unions in American society. The 17 visiting students attend the new Lviv Institute of Management in the Ukraine, which specializes in marketing and foreign economics. Alternating between English and Ukrainian, the program's coordinator, Bohdan Oryshkevich, opened the meeting with a few introductory remarks. Oryshkevich, an American physician who became interested in credit unions while researching the problem of medical student's debts, said that the Ukraine has the potential to become a world economic power in the future. Oryshkevich also explained that the Wharton School provides a qualified pool of student entrepreneurs who help make the Credit Union successful. The Credit Union's CEO, senior Kevin Dwyer, then talked about the Credit Union industry and the University's system itself. Dwyer explained that those who use the Credit Union are members as opposed to customers who have to pay for bank services. Credit Union Vice President of Planning, Wharton junior Darren Fleishman, continued the presentation by explaining the reasons for the Credit Union's success on campus. Fleishman said that since the Credit Union handles mainly low-balance/high-transaction accounts, students receive higher priority than they would at normal banks. "Since a credit union is a non-profit organization it would provide an excellent banking infrastructure for the Ukraine," said Credit Union Executive Vice President and Wharton senior Katherine Blanchette. Blanchette added that since Ukrainians have been trained for years to be suspicious of all profit organizations, a credit union may be the best option for their growing economy. Many of the Ukrainian students said they had never been to the U.S. before this week, and, while they were well received by Americans, it was too soon for them to pass judgement on the country.

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