By the National Banking and Securities Commission of Mexico and Celina Lee, published by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, February 2012, 19 pages, available at: http://www.microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m//template.rc/1.1.14613 Continue Reading »

TIM Participacoes, the Brazilian subsidiary of Italian telecommunications company Telecom Italia Mobile, reportedly will launch a funeral microinsurance product for low-income individuals that can be enrolled in and paid for via mobile telephones. Continue Reading »

Event Name: Financing Low-Cost Housing LATAM Conference 2012

Event Date: August 28 to August 29, 2012

Event Location: Miami, Florida Continue Reading »

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, has invested USD 10 million in equity in Chilean insurance company Aseguradora Magallanes (AM) in an effort to expand the availability of insurance products, such as life and agribusiness insurance, to owners of under-served small businesses in Chile [1]. Continue Reading »

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, is working to encourage the provision of “mobile financial services to underserved populations in remote areas of Latin America and the Caribbean.” Continue Reading »

“2011 Asia Regional Snapshot;” published by the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX); March 2012; 19 pages; available at:
http://www.themix.org/publications/mix-microfinance-world/2012/03/2011-asia-regional-snapshot Continue Reading »

Freedom from Hunger, a US-based non-governmental organization that aims to alleviate poverty, and Oikocredit, a Dutch cooperative investment fund, plan to partner with six microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Andes mountains of Ecuador and Peru to implement Freedom from Hunger’s microfinance and health protection model. Continue Reading »

The Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV), a nonprofit network of 15 “values-based” banks, released a report it commissioned at its recent annual conference in the Canadian city of Vancouver, British Columbia, suggesting that values-based banks (VBBs), banks that prioritize social progress, are financially stronger than mainstream banks. Continue Reading »

Fitch, a rating agency with headquarters in London and New York, reportedly has affirmed the rating of Peruvian nonprofit holding company Grupo ACP Inversiones y Desarrollo (Grupo ACP) at BB-, indicating an elevated vulnerability to default risk. Continue Reading »

“Research Insight: Peru – Model Market for Microfinance;” by Christian Etzensperger; published by responsAbility Social Investments; March 2012; 9 pages; available at: www.responsability.com/domains/responsability_ch/data/free_docs/Research_Insight_Acces_to_Finance_in_Peru_EN.pdf Continue Reading »

“Indian Microfinance: Looking Beyond the AP Act and its Devastating Impact on the Poor;” published by Legatum Ventures; March 2012; 17 pages; available at: http://www.legatumventures.com/ Continue Reading »

Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit organization that aims to help microfinance institutions (MFIs) replicate Grameen Bank’s joint-liability lending model, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a government agency that provides economic and humanitarian assistance, have issued a USD 1 million joint guarantee to support Proempresa, a Peru-based MFI. Continue Reading »

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, will provide a five-year credit line of USD 25 million to Banco BBVA Panama to expand its lending to farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the aim of promoting regional economic integration. Continue Reading »

Event Name: Affordability, Profitability and Use of Electronic G2P Payment Systems

Event Date: 11:00 am to 11:30 am eastern US time, March 14, 2012

Event Location: Online Continue Reading »

In its first year of commercial operation, which ended September 2011, Corporacion para las Microfinanzas Puerto Rico (PR), a microfinance institution created and owned by the BBVA Microfinance Foundation, granted USD 2.1 million to entrepreneurs on the island of Puerto Rico [1]. Continue Reading »

“2011 Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Snapshot;” published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) and the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX); February 2012; 36 pages; available at: http://vx.worldbank.org/t/3341406/27487238/32401/0/ Continue Reading »

The World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), a US-based trade association for credit unions in 51 countries, and Federación de Nacional de Cooperativas de Ahorro y Crédito (FENACOAC), an association of credit unions and cooperatives in Guatemala, is using technology to assist rural farmers in Guatamala and Mexico in achieving financial stability. Continue Reading »

By Chuck Waterfield, Published by MicroFinance Transparency, June 2011, 10 pages, http://www.microfinancegateway.org/gm/document-1.1.9115/The-Challenge-of-Understanding-Pricing-of-Micro-Loans_Jun2011_ENG.pdf. Continue Reading »