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 G20 SME (Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise) Finance Online Consultations are now ongoing through June 17 to help shape the policy recommendations of the SME Finance Sub-Group, which was launched as part of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion to improve access to financial services for the poor. The Group of Twenty (G20) was established in 1999 to bring together finance ministers and central bank governors of “systematically important” industrialized and developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy. 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 »

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 »

The National League for Democracy (NLD), a banned political opposition party in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), is reported to be planning the launch of a microcredit program to provide small, interest-free-loans in South Okkalapa Township of Burma’s capital city, Rangoon. Continue Reading »

African Microfinance Transparency Forum (AMT), a Luxembourg-based nonprofit that seeks to promote transparency and efficiency among African microfinance institutions (MFIs), is set to relocate its operations to the African continent in 2011. AMT is inviting organizations based in Africa to apply to host and manage the AMT Secretariat. Continue Reading »

A recent article published by Inter Press Service (IPS), an Italy-based global news agency, written by Lewis Mwanangombe, a Zambian journalist who writes for the Associated Press and the Pan-African News Agency, highlights the limited availability of financial services in Zambia. Referencing a World Bank report, Mr Mwanangombe points out, “less than eight percent of Zambian adults have bank accounts. For the millions who make their living in the informal economy, this prevents them from earning interest on any savings they have or securing credit needed to expand small businesses beyond mere survival” [1]. Continue Reading »

Mejlis, the Legislature of Turkmenistan, has passed a law on “microfinance institutions and microfinance” [1]. According to the official report released by the Mejlis, the law is intended to attract financial resources to the country, facilitate the creation of industrial and business infrastructure and enhance the competitiveness of Turkmenistan’s private sector. Further details on the law are unavailable. Continue Reading »

Speaking at a recent panel held by the Brookings Institution, a US-based nonprofit public policy organization, on “Growth Through Innovation in Africa: Mobile Financial Services and Financial Inclusion,” Maria Otero, US Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, argued that mobile money could substantially support financial inclusion efforts. Continue Reading »

SKS Microfinance, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), has filed a petition with the Supreme Court of India seeking a stay to prevent the enforcement of the Regulation of Microlending Act issued by the government of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Continue Reading »

United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations’ global development network that seeks to connect countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life, organized a session recently to discuss amendments to microfinance regulations in Uzbekistan. Continue Reading »

Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the US-based, nonprofit data provider, foresees a significant impact on microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India as a result of the regulations that were recently issued by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central banking authority, in response to the turmoil that has disrupted the microfinance sector since late 2010, particularly in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Continue Reading »

The Business Standard, an Indian financial newspaper, recently reported that the regulations recently issued for the microfinance sector by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s central banking authority, and the Regulation of Microlending act issued by the government of the state of Andhra Pradesh in 2010 are creating confusion over the regulatory jurisdiction of each entity. Continue Reading »

Mexican microfinance institutions (MFIs) Credito Real SA and Financiera Independencia SAB have reported gains in bond sales that are double those of the average of bank in Latin America [1].

Continue Reading »

The Indian rating agency Credit Rating and Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL) has announced that it expects, “Growth prospects for microfinance institutions (MFIs) will remain subdued over the medium term,” due to microfinance guidelines issued earlier this month by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the nation’s central banking authority. Continue Reading »