The Federation of European Credit Management Associations (FECMA) was founded in 1986 following an initiative by the late Sir Roger Cork, one time President of the then Institute of Credit Management (ICM) in the UK. Roger had recognised that the credit management profession was of fundamental value to UK business and that the same was true for businesses across Europe. During his time as Lord Mayor of London, he had met many credit professionals from many countries and realised that all the various national associations could greatly benefit from learning from each other, sharing best practice and promoting ethical and professional standards. FECMA became the ideal forum for co-operation and understanding, and from those early beginnings much progress has been made. Individual national associations have grown, new associations formed and new members welcomed into the FECMA family – all due to continued co-operation and mutual assistance.
Annual conferences, seminars, regional events and roadshows are a feature common to all national credit management associations, but international cross-border events provide a unique opportunity for all members and service providers to meet and share knowledge, understanding and experience. With that aim at the forefront, FECMA held the 1st Pan European Credit Management Congress in 2013 in the beautiful Hungarian capital, Budapest. Over 250 delegates and supporters from all over Europe enjoyed focussed presentations covering a wide range of credit management activities and came away with a much enhanced understanding of their profession in a much wider perspective than simply domestic.
Encouraged by this success, FECMA held the 2nd Pan European Credit Management Congress in Brussels, Belgium in 2015. With the theme of European Best Practice, the aim of inspiring credit managers across Europe and learning from each other was achieved and ambitions exceeded. The intention following Brussels was to be another European event in 2017 and this would have been the case were it not for the UK EU referendum, and subsequent Brexit, which undoubtedly caused something of an adjustment to many calendars in Europe! In reality, however, it simply meant a delay – the Chartered Institute of Credit Management (CICM) in the UK, and the largest credit management association in Europe, made it clear beyond question that though the UK may well have decided to leave the EU, CICM was as committed to FECMA as always. Membership of FECMA indeed became instantly more relevant for all national associations following the outcome of the UK EU referendum
On 16th and 17th May, 2018, FECMA staged the 3rd Pan European Credit Management Congress and this time the venue was the beautiful Mediterranean island of Malta. Impending Brexit focussed the minds of all credit professionals, be they in Berlin, Birmingham, Barcelona or Brussels and going forward mutual understanding, co-operation and shared best practice, together with heightened professional and ethical standards become more vitally important. The programme was designed to deliver just that, and the opportunity to meet and network had never been more relevant of more necessary. The success of the event clearly demonstrated the value of credit professionals sharing both best practice and being able to network and enhance skills.
2019 was Brexit year for the United Kingdom and as the dust began to settle it became clear that all those issues discussed in Malta remained as relevant as ever. With all this in mind, FECMA will be holding the 4th Pan European Credit Management Congress on 13th and 14th May, 2020 in Krakow, Poland when credit professionals from across Europe will meet, network and discuss. The Qubus Hotel is ideally suited to such an event with superb facilities and easy access to the heart of the city of Krakow.