By Binh T Nguyen and Robert Vogel, published by Asian Development Bank (ADB), 2011, 126 pages, available at: http://www.microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m/template.rc/1.9.51104/ Continue Reading »

The Indian Ministry of Finance is in the final stages of drafting a new microfinance bill that would transfer all regulatory power over microfinance to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central bank, in an effort to create a uniform framework for all microfinance institutions (MFIs), according to Indian news website Moneycontrol.com. Continue Reading »

Datuk Amihamzah Ahma, the Chairman of Operations in the Southern Sarawak region for Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM), a microfinance institution (MFI) in Malaysia, has announced that AIM plans to disburse MYR 491 million (USD 164 million) in loans under the Tenth Malaysia Plan, a blueprint for the allocation of the national government budget for 2011 to 2015. Continue Reading »

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central banking authority, has recently begun permitting urban cooperative banks (UCBs), commonly known as credit unions, to lend directly to self-help groups (SHGs) and joint-liability groups (JLGs) in an effort to facilitate financial inclusion by increasing the availability of microfinance in India. Continue Reading »

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, has agreed to loan USD 4 million to microfinance institution (MFI) AccessBank Tajikistan to expand the MFI’s loan portfolio, develop a greater variety of credit products and “support competition in the microfinance sector,” according to an IFC press release [1]. Continue Reading »

According to the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP), an association of approximately 700 banks that aims to promote rural development, the rural banking sector in the Philippines is expected to consist of fewer but stronger banks as mergers and consolidations continue. “Mergers and consolidations that are happening will result in fewer rural banks that are stronger in terms of resources,” said Tomas S Gomez IV, spokesman of RBAP, according to Business World. Continue Reading »

Since its initial investment in SKS Microfinance, an India-based microfinance institution (MFI), Sequoia Capital, a US-based venture capital firm, has experienced significant gains on paper followed by partial losses of those gains. Continue Reading »

US-based newspaper The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Indonesian banks are quickly expanding into the country’s microfinance market [1]. Continue Reading »

The Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR) cell of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), after a unanimous decision, declared that promoters of microlenders will be required to provide personal guarantees in order for their institutions to refinance their debt in the wake of the microfinance turmoil in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh that began in 2010. Continue Reading »

The Indian unit of Equifax Credit Information Services, a US-based consumer credit reporting agency, has partnered with the following six Indian banks to launch a credit bureau devoted to transactions in the microfinance sector: Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Prime, ReligareFinvest, Sundaram Finance and Union Bank of India. Continue Reading »

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) recently issued an order applicable to thrift, rural and cooperative banks expanding the range of applicants that is eligible for microcredit. Continue Reading »

LeapFrog Investments, a US-based private equity fund focusing on microinsurance activities, is reportedly looking for opportunities to deploy up to USD 40 million in India. Continue Reading »

Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs), which have struggled to procure loans from commercial banks since turmoil struck the microfinance industry in Andhra Pradesh in November 2010, have found that raising money by securitizing even their higher-quality loan portfolios has become more expensive. Continue Reading »

India’s SKS Microfinance, a microfinance institution (MFI) that loans to impoverished women in India, has reported that Suresh Gurumani has resigned from his post as director of the company’s board. Continue Reading »

The Bank of Thailand (BOT), the country’s central bank, has recently allowed commercial banks to engage in microfinance, whereby there is no collateral requirement, a credit limit of THB 200,000 (USD 6,000) and an annual interest rate cap of 28 percent [1]. Continue Reading »

Event Name: 2nd Mobile Payment China 2011

Event Date: July 12 to July 13, 2011

Event Location: Shanghai, China Continue Reading »

MicroSave, an Indian for-profit technical assistance, training and resource center, recently published “No Thrills: Dormancy in NFA Accounts,” a study on India’s “No Frill Accounts (NFAs),” a basic account option legally required of private banks as part of Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) “Financial Inclusion Programme.” Continue Reading »