Abdul Bayes, a professor of economics at Jahangirnagar University in Bangladesh, recently argued in Bangladeshi newspaper The Financial Express that non-government organizations (NGOs) have improved the credit market in rural Bangladesh by increasing the use of microcredit from institutional sources as opposed to informal sources like friends, family members and moneylenders which may charge an “exorbitant rate of interest” [1]. Continue Reading »

By Nara Hari Dhakal, published on the Microfinance Gateway; 2011; 8 pages; available at
http://www.microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m/template.rc/1.9.52121?cid=PS… 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 »

The Dariu Foundation (TDF), a Vietnam-based microfinance institution (MFI), amidst double-digit inflation and increasing domestic interest rates, has seen a 25-percent increase in the number of new clients served and a 47-percent increase in the number of loans disbursed during the first five months of this year compared to the same period last year. Continue Reading »

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, reportedly plans to invest up to USD 500 million in China during the 2011-12 fiscal year, with emphases on developing agribusiness and rural finance through microfinance institutions (MFIs) and developing the country’s renewable energy industry. Continue Reading »

SKS Microfinance, a publicly-listed Indian microfinance institution (MFI), recently reported a net loss of INR 2.18 billion (USD 48.1 million) for the quarter ending June 30, compared to a net profit of INR 669 million (USD 14.3 million) in the same period last year. Continue Reading »

A recent editorial in The Jakarta Post, a newspaper in Indonesia, examines the issue of access to financial services in Indonesia and highlights financial literacy as an important element in increasing financial inclusion [1]. Continue Reading »

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. Continue Reading »

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reportedly emphasized to commercial banks at the recent annual review meeting of its standing advisory committee on micro- and small-sized enterprise (MSE) that MSE lending should grow at a rate similar to that of overall bank credit growth, which recently has been approximately 20 percent per year. Continue Reading »

The Bank of China (BOC), a state-owned commercial bank, is partnering with Temasek, an investment house owned by the government of Singapore, to launch village banks in China. Continue Reading »

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 Continue Reading »

The National, an English-language newspaper owned by the Abu Dhabi government, recently reported that the branchless banking model in which local agents, or business correspondents, use handheld computers to offer banking services in areas of India with no traditional banking branches is “transforming lives”. Continue Reading »

Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (BSFL), an Indian non-banking finance company (NBFC) and member of the BASIX Group, has launched an automated microinsurance processing system in collaboration with Aviva Life Insurance India in a bid to reduce the transaction costs associated with microinsurance enrolment. Continue Reading »

responsAbility Social Investments AG, a Swiss investment company that operates four microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), recently reported to MicroCapital that it has made debt investments totaling USD 24 million in microfinance institutions (MFIs) Inecobank, Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia (ACBA) and ACBA leasing of Armenia; DemirBank of Azerbaijan; and Sekerbank of Turkey. The investments have been made through three MIVs: responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund (rAGMF), responsAbility Microfinance Leaders Fund (rAMLF) and responsAbility Mikrofinanz-Fonds. Continue Reading »

Credit Information Bureau International Limited (CIBIL), an Indian credit bureau operator, recently announced that it plans to roll out a dedicated credit bureau for microfinance customers and microfinance institutions (MFIs) [1]. Continue Reading »

Eko India Financial Services Private Limited, a mobile banking technology provider and business correspondent (BC) for State Bank of India and India’s ICICI Bank, has raised USD 5.5 million in “growth equity” through an investment campaign led jointly by Creation Investments Capital Management LLC and Promus Equity Partners, two private investment funds based in the US. Continue Reading »