In an article recently published on the website of the US-based Financial Access Initiative, Brussels-based microfinance consultant Daniel Rozas examines multiple borrowing and proposes several ways address the issue. Continue Reading »

Kredits, a US-based technology provider to microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently announced that it is providing a “multi-jurisdictional regulatory compliance software solution” to unnamed MFI clients in Kazakhstan, Brazil, India and Madagascar.  The product is soon to be made available to additional countries in Southeast Asia and Africa [1]. Continue Reading »

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria’s central banking authority, has approved the new capital base requirements for microfinance banks (MFBs) as per the expectations reported in the MicroCapital story dated June 28. Continue Reading »

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has withdrawn general provision requirements for loans extended by microfinance banks (MFB) that are secured against collateral. Continue Reading »

Dr Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Bangladeshi microfinance institution (MFI) Grameen Bank, recently argued that the Arab world has “misinterpreted the system’s true principles” by operating it as a “charity affair” [1]. Continue Reading »

The Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), an affiliate of US-based nonprofit ACCION International, recently released a report titled “Opportunities and Obstacles to Financial Inclusion”, that identifies client financial education as the top opportunity in the microfinance sphere [1]. Continue Reading »

Indian rural finance practitioner Mr Ramesh S Arunachalam recently addressed the need for due diligence in the business correspondent (BC) model that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s central banking authority, adopted in 2010 to increase financial access for low-income people [1]. Continue Reading »

In a recent paper, “Finance and Development: A Tale of Two Sectors,” published in the academic journal American Economic Review, researchers affiliated with the US-based nonprofit Consortium on Financial Systems and Poverty (CFSP), conclude that poor access to financing opportunities in developing countries makes it harder for entrepreneurs to start large-scale businesses like manufacturing [1]. Continue Reading »

Mr Ahmed El Bardai, founder and chief executive of the Egyptian for-profit microfinance institution (MFI) Reefy, expects the country’s next government to focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to boost the economy that is facing a huge budget deficit and declining gross domestic product [1]. Continue Reading »

In an attempt to improve regulation of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the country, the Bank of Ghana (BoG), the central bank of Ghana, recently issued new operating rules and guidelines under the Non-bank Financial Institutions Act 2008. Among those being regulated are ‘susu’ companies, which are named after a traditional, informal means to save and borrow. Continue Reading »

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central banking authority, recently published circulars that will require new and existing banks to open one quarter of new branches in towns with populations of less than 10,000 people in an effort to further the government’s financial inclusion agenda. Continue Reading »

Mr Chuck Waterfield, founder and CEO of MFTransparency (MFT), a US-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) that collects and publishes information on microcredit products and pricing, recently contributed to the CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) blog to suggest ideas for regulations that could encourage more transparent pricing in microfinance [1]. Continue Reading »

After months of deliberations and input from academics, policymakers and practitioners, the Indian government has published a draft of its “Microfinance Institutions (Development and Regulation) Bill,” as the first version of a future authoritative policy to govern the domestic microfinance sector. Continue Reading »

In a recent press release, the National Treasury of the Republic of South Africa, the body responsible for managing government finances, released a policy document titled, “The South African Microinsurance Regulatory Framework,” to address the “challenges to improve access to insurance and consumer protection for the lower income families in the country” [1]. Continue Reading »

The government-owned United Bank of India (UBI), recently sanctioned a loan of INR 100 crore (USD 22.5 million) to Bandhan Financial Services, a microfinance institution (MFI) in India [1]. Continue Reading »

In a recent World Bank policy research working paper, Meghana Ayyagari, Vojislav Maksimovic and Asli Demirgüç-Kunt offer a database on the contribution of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and young firms to total employment, job creation and productivity growth across 99 developing economies. Continue Reading »

The Kenyan Ministry of Information (MOI), through the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), is newly requiring mobile phone firms to adopt new measures to protect their systems from improper access and to file related security audit reports on an annual basis. Continue Reading »

CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) reports that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the nation’s central banking authority, recently announced modifications to its branchless banking regulations that include: removal of the requirement to have one’s fingerprint scanned to open an account; increases in transaction limits and the elimination of the maximum balance; and introduction of “Level 0” accounts that can be opened electronically, without physical paperwork. Continue Reading »