MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Two Papers Released by Microfinance Information Exchange Discuss Impacts of Financial Crises, Reporting Requirements

The US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) has released two papers that offer insight into different issues faced by microfinance institutions (MFIs).

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions Move to Recover “Pre-Crisis” Loans Worth $1.4b in Andhra Pradesh, India

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Andhra Pradesh, India, have started talks to recover outstanding loans amounting to INR 7,000 crore (approximately USD 1.4 billion), which they have been unable to collect since the repayment dropoff in the state started in 2010.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Panelists at Toronto International Microfinance Summit 2011 Discuss Interest Rate Pricing, Technological Solutions, Commercial and Philanthropic Funding

In a presentation at the recent Toronto International Microfinance Summit, panelists weighed in on a range of current topics in the microfinance sector, including profitability, the effect of commercial investment and advances in technology.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Housing Microfinance Not a Viable Solution for Slums, Opines Ruban Selvanayagam

Mr Ruban Selvanayagam, a Brazil-based real estate and land consultant with EXITUS Construction Brazil, recently laid out a series of arguments against housing microfinance being the best solution to deal with the “wide and growing presence of slums, shanty towns and other forms of substandard housing” [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Vijay Mahajan of Microfinance Firm BASIX Says Firm to Explore Foreign Investors if Domestic Banks Refuse to Lend

Mr Vijay Mahajan, chairman of BASIX Group, an Indian company whose holdings include two microfinance institutions (MFIs), has reportedly announced that if the company does not get a capital infusion of INR 450 crores (USD 98 million) by end of September from domestic sources, it will have to explore partnering with foreign investors [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Chuck Waterfield of MFTransparency Explores Ideas to Make Microfinance Prices More Transparent

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].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Reports 13% Quarterly Decline in Microfinance Bank Deposits, Slow Recovery After 2010 Floods

Pakistan’s central banking authority, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), has reportedly stated that the value of deposits at microfinance banks (MFBs) in the country decreased from PKR 10.3 billion (USD 120 million) as of December 31, 2010, to PKR 8.9 billion (USD 104 million) as of March 31, 2011.

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Selective Knowledge: Reporting Biases in Microfinance Data, by Jonathan Bauchet and Jonathan Morduch, Published by Financial Access Initiative (FAI) at New York University’s Robert F Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and Hunter College

By Jonathan Bauchet and Jonathan Morduch, published by the Financial Access Initiative (FAI) at New York University’s Robert F Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and Hunter College, June 2009, 39 pages, available at:
http://www.nyu.edu/projects/morduch/documents/articles/2008-06-Selective-knowledge.pdf

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Commercial Banks, Private Equity Investors Reevaluate India’s Microfinance Sector in Light of Draft Microfinance Bill

Since the Indian government released a draft microfinance bill in July 2011, commercial banks and private equity investors reportedly have expressed a new willingness to consider investing in microfinance institutions (MFIs).

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Portfolio Risk Jumps in Tunisia, Egypt, As a Result of Political Unrest

Sanabel, a network of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Arab countries, has reportedly released results of a survey of  MFIs in Tunisia and Egypt that indicates a significant increase in portfolio-at-risk (PAR) since political instability and social unrest recently broke out in those countries.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Kenya Requires Mobile Phone Carriers to Adopt Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard

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.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Survey Conducted by Yemen Microfinance Network (YMN) Indicates Microfinance Institutions Facing Operational Difficulties Because of Ongoing Political Tension

According to a survey conducted by the Yemen Microfinance Network (YMN), a member-based nonprofit organization, microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the country have been negatively affected by the ongoing political climate and are facing an uncertain future.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution BSFL Threatened by Deterioration in Portfolio Quality, Urgently Seeks New Funding to Stave Off Potential Collapse

Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (BSFL), an Indian microfinance institution (MFI) and member of the BASIX Group, has witnessed a sharp downturn in the quality of its loan portfolio and reportedly may not be able to continue operations without additional funding.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Investment Bank (EIB) Sponsors Research Programs on Rising Risk in Microcredit

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has submitted a call for proposals to select university centers that wish to conduct research on the theme of the rising risk of microcredit, which include possible cause factors, warning signals, current states and future prospects.

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Micro-loans, Insecticide-Treated Bednets and Malaria: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Orissa (India); By Alessandro Tarozzi, Aprajit Mahajan, Brian Blackburn, Dan Kopf, Lakshmi Krishnan, Joanne Young; Working Paper Published by The Centre for Micro Finance, IFMR Research

By Alessandro Tarozzi, Aprajit Mahajan, Brian Blackburn, Dan Kopf, Lakshmi Krishnan, Joanne Young; published by the Center for Microfinance (CMF) at IFMR (Institute for Financial Management and Research); March 2011; 58 pages; available at http://ifmr.ac.in/cmf/publications/wp/2011/Bednets.pdf

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Articles Published by The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal Question Impact of Microfinance, Role of Commercialization

In recent articles published on the websites of newspapers The Guardian of the UK and The Wall Street Journal of the US, journalists, academics and practitioners express concerns about various topics in the microfinance sector including social performance measurement, commercialization and changing methodologies.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Climate Investment Funds (CIF) Forum Panelists: Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Can Help Mitigate and Adapt to Climate Change

Government officials and executives from development institutions recently commented on the role that microfinance can play in helping poor and rural communities in developing countries address the ongoing problems associated with climate change at the recent Climate Investment Funds (CIF) 2011 Partnership Forum in Cape Town, South Africa.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Spurned by Commercial Banks, Indian Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Raise Funds from Social Investors IFC, ACCION, MicroVest, ShoreCap, Aavishkaar, BlueOrchard

Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs), which have seen new lending from commercial banks dry up since the “Andhra Pradesh crisis” broke in late 2010, instead have been accessing funds from social and philanthropic investors including: International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group; ACCION International, a US-based nonprofit organization; MicroVest Capital Management, a US-based family of microfinance investment funds; Shore Capital, a UK-based investment banking company; Aavishkaar Goodwell India Microfinance Development Company Limited, an India-based financing company; and BlueOrchard Microfinance Investment Managers, a Swiss manager of microfinance funds.