The CEOs of Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs) SKS Microfinance, BASIX, Spandana, Share Microfin and Asmitha Microfin have agreed to reduce interest rates charged to borrowers to 24 percent on an annual basis. The announcement came after a meeting with financial services secretary, Mr R Gopalan. Continue Reading »

Sajeev Viswanathan, CEO of Indian group BASIX, which provides microfinance services through its microfinance institution (MFI) Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (BSFL), was recently interviewed by CNBC India, at which time he denied that BSFL charges interest rates as high as 60 percent on microloans. Continue Reading »

SKS Microfinance, a publicly traded microfinance institution (MFI) based in India, recently announced that it will lower interest rates to for new borrowers borrowers in the state of Andhra Pradesh from 26.69 percent to 24.55 percent. Continue Reading »

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Andhra Pradesh, India, are offering many of their estimated 6.7 million borrowers the option of restructuring their outstanding loans in an effort to defuse recent popular and political hostility towards microfinance in the area. Continue Reading »

Microfinance institution (MFI) Equitas Microfinance India Private Limited has announced that it has securitized loans totaling INR 1 billion (USD 22 million). Continue Reading »

responsAbility Social Investments AG (responsAbility), an investment manager founded in 2003 in Switzerland, reported to MicroCapital that it recently made five debt investments totaling USD 5.5 million in microfinance institutions (MFIs) Prasac of Cambodia and Credit Mongol of Mongolia. Continue Reading »

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), has announced to MicroCapital that it made two debt investments in Banka Kombetare Tregtare (BKT) ShA (Joint Stock Company), a private commercial bank in Albania, in September 2010. Continue Reading »

responsAbility Social Investments AG (responsAbility), a social investment company founded in 2003 in Switzerland, reported to MicroCapital that it made two debt investments during the month of September totaling EUR 1 million (USD 1.3 million) in microfinance institution (MFI) fondiBESA of Albania and a third debt investment of USD 1.5 million in Pearl Microfinance Limited of Uganda. Continue Reading »

Sanchetna Financial Services, a Lucknow-based microfinance institution, recently announced that it will lower interest rates on its flagship loan product, Samridhi, from a flat interest rate of 15 percent over 46 weeks to 12.5 percent over 45 weeks. Continue Reading »

responsAbility Social Investments AG (responsAbility), an investment manager founded in 2003 in Switzerland, reported to MicroCapital that it recently made four debt investments totaling USD 1.7 million in microfinance institutions (MFIs) MBK Ventura of Indonesia, COOPAC Norandino of Peru and COAC Mushuc Runa of Ecuador. Continue Reading »

The European Fund for Southeastern Europe (EFSE) has recently signed a loan of EUR 20 million (USD 26.7 million) to Raiffeisenbank EAD (Joint Stock Corporation) of Bulgaria for the provision of loans to low-income households for renovating, enlarging or purchasing their homes. Continue Reading »

The financial services secretary of India, Mr R Gopalan, has written a letter to public-sector banks asking them to ensure that the microfinance institutions (MFIs) to which they lend on a wholesale basis do not charge more than 24 percent interest to retail borrowers. Continue Reading »

An article was published recently on the website of the Economic Times newspaper defending the Indian microfinance industry from more regulation, especially caps that might restrict the profitability of microfinance institutions (MFIs). Continue Reading »

Microfinance institutions are beginning to experiment with education loans, potentially allowing students to achieve higher levels of education and income. Continue Reading »

responsAbility Social Investments AG (responsAbility), a social investment company founded in 2003 in Switzerland, reported to MicroCapital that it made four debt investments during the month of August totaling EUR 2 million (USD 2.5 million) to microfinance institutions (MFIs) Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) Kosovo and fondiBESA of Albania. Continue Reading »

An unreleased report by a committee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that was recently leaked to the Indian newspaper Economic Times recommended that RBI withdraw the priority sector status of microfinance institutions (MFIs), which allows MFIs borrow at lower interest rates. Continue Reading »

At the Lagos State Conference on Credit Awareness, Credit Awareness Nigeria, a nonprofit organization which aims to promote financial literacy, recently called on banks to provide low-income groups with better access to financial services. Continue Reading »

Officials from Sa-Dhan, an Indian microfinance industry association, announced that some of its 223 member microfinance institutions (MFIs) have agreed to lower interest rates by 2 percent to 3 percent. Continue Reading »