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Feb 2009
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Archives:
Microfinancing Still Resilient in Mexico
February, 26 2009
Mexico city, Mexico - Until a year ago, microfinance and low-income banking in Mexico were a joint success story, growing at rates that made the rest of the country’s banking sector look sluggish. But since the beginning of last year, as credit began to dry up on fears of global recession, the fortunes of the two sectors have diverged markedly ...
Are Microcredit Interest Rates Excessive?
February, 25 2009
Washington, United States - Are microfinance institutions (MFIs) exploiting poor borrowers by charging them excessive interest rates? Some think so. In 2007, for example, a controversy erupted around Compartamos, a Mexican MFI that was earning a 55 percent return on shareholders’ equity by charging its borrowers interest rates around 85 percent. The real question is, are high interest rates and profits like Compartamos’s outliers, or are they typical for a large number of MFIs ...
Compartamos Banco Reports Results for Fourth Quarter and Twelve-Month Periods Ended December 31, 2008
February, 25 2009
Mexico sity, Mexico - Banco Compartamos, S.A. I.B.M. ("Compartamos", "the Company" or "the Bank") the leading Mexican microfinance bank today announced its audited financial results for the fourth quarter and twelve-month periods ended December 31, 2008. ...
Moroccan Microloan Sector Revises Strategy
February, 24 2009
Casablanca, Morocco - Morocco's microcredit industry seeks to expand its product range and boost loan opportunities in poor areas ...
TIAA-CREF Makes $40 Million Investment in Developing World Markets Microfinance Equity Fund I
February, 24 2009
New York - TIAA-CREF, the leading provider of retirement savings products and services in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields, today announced a $40 million investment in Developing World Markets Microfinance Equity Fund I (“Fund”) ...
Focus: Microfinance is a Handy Tool in a Diversified Portfolio
February, 23 2009
London, United Kingdom - In spite of scepticism about it being an 'unknown' asset class, microfinance is establishing itself as a useful way to expand diversified portfolios ...
Grameen Foundation Announces New Social Investing Guidelines for Microfinance
February, 23 2009
Washington, United States - Grameen Foundation today released the first ever guidelines designed to help institutional and individual investors rigorously evaluate the social returns on their microfinance investments. ...
First European Research Conference on Microfinance - Online registration now available
February, 18 2009
Brussels, Belgium - In partnership with the Centre for European Research in Microfinance (CERMi), the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) has the great pleasure to organize the first european research conference on microfinance, with the purpose of establishing the state of the art in the field. ...
India: SKS Microfinance in Talks with Banks to Raise Rs 100 crore (USD 20 ml)
February, 18 2009
Hyderabad, India - SKS Microfinance, the largest player by assets in the country, is in talks with a clutch of state-owned banks to raise Rs 100 crore in a credit rated securitization deal. The move will help the MFI access cheaper funds and expand its business to new geographies. ...
India: CDC Invests $30 million in Two Microfinance Funds
February, 18 2009
United States - CDC has invested $15 million each in 2 MFIs - India Financial Inclusion Fund and Catalyst Microfinance Investors ...
Gates Foundation Gives $12.5M for Mobile Banking to World’s Poor
February, 17 2009
Barcelona, Spain - The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation says it’s giving $12.5 million that will expanding banking opportunities via mobile phones for people living on less than $2 per day in parts of the world ...
Government Seeks to Support Microfinance in Russia
February, 17 2009
Washington, United States - The Ministry of Economic Development proposed a mechanism to distribute 30 billion rubles (around US$830 million) allocated for state support of SMEs and microfinance. Of this amount, 1 billion rubles (US$28 million) is intended specifically for microfinance ...
MicroPlace Launches First Microfinance Investment Yielding 5 Percent for Everyday Investors
February, 17 2009
San Jose, United States - MicroPlace, a website that enables everyday people to invest in the world's working poor, announced today the launch of a new investment opportunity that offers a 5 percent return, a first in the microfinance investment industry for everyday investors. ...
Recession Ups U.S. Demand for Third World-type Loans
February, 17 2009
New York, United States - With the recession deepening, U.S.-based microlenders say they are seeing an increase in inquiries from would-be borrowers, including startup entrepreneurs seen as too risky by banks and other traditional lenders ...
Cambodia's Microlending Growth Will Continue at Double-digit Rates in 2009
February, 16 2009
Phnom Penh, Cambodia - After recent success as one of the fastest growing sectors in the Kingdom, microfinance is set to weather the current economic malaise with strong growth, the industry says. ...
Pakistan: Microfinance Sector's Consumer Protection Initiative
February, 15 2009
Karachi, Pakistan - Pakistan's microfinance sector is considered to be a late bloomer, especially from a regional standpoint. However recognising the need to increase the depth and outreach of financial markets in Pakistan, policy makers and regulators along with other stakeholders have worked hard for the development of the microfinance industry in the country ...
Philippines: RCBC to Buy Batangas Bank, Enter into Microfinance
February, 13 2009
Philippines - Publicly listed Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) said Friday it would acquire a rural bank in Batangas and use it primarily for its entry into the microfinance business. ...
Mobile Banking for the Unbanked and the Financial Crisis: CGAP Sees Growth Potential in Developing Markets
February, 12 2009
Washington, United States - CGAP, the global microfinance center is releasing new research and data to encourage telecom operators, financial institutions and governments to see the business potential in expanding access to financial services for poor people in developing markets. The current economic climate makes the need for widespread availability of safe alternatives to cash even more pressing ...
Bahrain Launches First Poor People's Bank
February, 12 2009
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Bahrain has become the first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) state to launch a bank for extending micro-credit facilities for the poor. ...
S.E.VEN Fund Awards Grant: Improving Flows of Foreign Capital to the Microfinance Industry
February, 11 2009
Cambridge, United States - The S.E.VEN Fund is pleased to announce that it has awarded MicroRate, Inc. a grant for its "Improving Flows of Foreign Capital to the Microfinance Industry" to support their proposed year-long Microfinance Investor Information Service (MIIS) - Pilot Project. ...
Key Stories 2009: Can Microfinance Beat The Credit Crunch?
February, 06 2009
Germany - Microfinance institutions have weathered the global financial storm remarkably well, but in 2009 the credit crunch and global recession could hit the sector hard ...
India: Fino Launches Microfinance Credit Bureau
February, 05 2009
Numbai, India - Just when the lending activity to poor unbanked was on a rise, a credit information bureau to help banks distinguish between good and bad borrowers has come up. ...
Wokai Launches Microfinance Platform to Address China's Urban-Rural Divide
February, 05 2009
Oakland, United States - Started by 25-year-old Americans Casey Wilson and Courtney McColgan, Wokai enables enthusiasts worldwide to fund loans for entrepreneurs such as pig farmers and teahouse owners ...
World Bank President and German Development Minister Launch Facility to Support Microfinance Industry and Protect Access to Finance for the Poor
February, 05 2009
Berlin, Germany - World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick and German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul today launched a $500 million facility that will support microfinance institutions facing difficulties refinancing as a result of the global financial crisis and ensure that low-income borrowers in developing countries continue to have access to finance. ...
India: FINO, NCR to Roll out 30,000 Micro Deposit Machines
February, 04 2009
Mumbai, India - In an effort to support the country’s financial inclusion programme, Financial Information Network & Operations (FINO) and NCR Corporation will jointly set up 1,000 machines that will accept small deposits. Both entities will roll out 30,000 machines named EasyPoint 70 Tijori in the next five years with an aim to cover 25 million unbanked people by 2011 ...
Microfinance Pioneer Yunus Seeks US Credit Union License
February, 04 2009
Washington, United States - Microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in alleviating poverty, said Wednesday he is seeking a license to open credit unions in the United States ...
Kenya: Banks "Poaching" on Microfinanciers’ Turf as Battle for Small Savers Intensifies
February, 04 2009
Nairobi, Kenya - A muted but nevertheless intense struggle is going on between giant banks and microfinance institutions over the low-profile credit market represented by the millions of low-income Kenyans who have jointly pooled savings amounting to an estimated Sh10 billion ...
Valuing Equity Investments in Microfinance: CGAP and J.P. Morgan Establish First Ever Microfinance Equity Investment Benchmarks
February, 03 2009
Washington, United States - Though equity investment in microfinance is a small market niche, it’s growing fast. But just what criteria are investors using to make their decisions? Both investors and microfinance institutions (MFIs) need reliable and accessible market references to improve equity pricing; yet, information on microfinance valuation is scarce, and private data are hard to access. Indeed, little research has been done on microfinance equity valuation – until now ...
Microcredit Presents Investment Option in Economic Downturn
February, 01 2009
Montreal, Canada - As global stock markets plummet and the world’s economy slumps ever deeper, experts say investing in the poor through microcredit is proving both a secure and noble option ...

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