The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the microfinance information clearinghouse, recently released its third annual ranking of microfinance institutions (MFIs), The Mix Global 100. Continue Reading »

India’s Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a self-regulatory organization of 31 of India’s largest microfinance companies, recently said its members will provide borrowers’ names, addresses and loan details to a credit bureau they have created, Alpha Micro Finance Consultants P Ltd (Alpha), in an effort to prevent client overindebtedness and maximize repayment. Continue Reading »

A study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the business information arm of The Economist Group, the producer of The Economist weekly magazine, has ranked the Philippines as first in the world in terms of its microfinance regulatory framework and third in the world in terms of its microfinance business environment, following Peru and Bolivia. Continue Reading »

Fitch Ratings, a global credit ratings agency, has released its ratings of ProCredit Bank of Bosnia & Herzegovina (PCBiH) and ProCredit Bank of Kosovo (PCBK). Continue Reading »

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s central bank, has warned that microfinance institutions (MFIs) will be taken off the priority sector lending list if the industry does not improve its governance standards. Continue Reading »

A new CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) Focus Note examines “what consumer protection regulation should look like in places where consumers are poor, access to finance is limited, and regulatory capacity is often overstretched.” Continue Reading »

CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) has released the “Technical Guide for Investors on Implementing the Client Protection Principles,” as part of a wider consumer protection campaign focusing on fair lending within the microfinance industry. Continue Reading »

The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the microfinance information clearinghouse, recently released the 2009 Eastern Europe and Central Asia Microfinance Analysis and Benchmarking Report. Continue Reading »

The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the microfinance information clearinghouse, recently released two benchmarking reports covering the microfinance market in Mexico and Paraguay. Continue Reading »

MFTransparency, founded in July of 2008 as part of a global initiative to promote transparent pricing in the microfinance industry, has launched a blog to complement its website. Continue Reading »

The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the microfinance information clearinghouse, has released its January 2010 issue newsletter in English, Spanish and French. Continue Reading »

By Zoran Stanisljevic, based on his interview with Christina Leijonhufvud, Managing Director of the Global Social Sector Finance Group at JP Morgan, published by MicroCapital.org, December 2009, 5 pages, available at http://www.microcapital.org/downloads/whitepapers/Diligence.pdf Continue Reading »

Damian von Stauffenberg is the founder of MicroRate, a rating agency specializing in microfinance.  Mr. von Stauffenberg founded MicroRate in 1997 and served as its CEO until 2009.  Through its Latin American and African subsidiaries, MicroRate has conducted over 400 ratings of microfinance institutions in Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe. 

Mr. von Stauffenberg previously worked for 25 years at the World Bank and its private sector affiliate, the International Finance Corporation (IFC).  He has been president of Seed Capital Development Fund (SCDF), chairman of the investment committee of ProFund, chairman of the executive committee of MicroVest and a member of the executive committee of the Latin American Challenge Investment Fund (LA-CIF). Continue Reading »

At the fourth Microfinance Conference in Abuja, Nigeria, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, announced that all microfinance bank CEOs would be required to pass a CBN administered exam in order to continue managing their banks. Continue Reading »

Mr Vijay Mahajan, Chairman of BASIX and a Board Member of CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), and Mr P N Vasudevan, Managing Director of Equitas Micro Finance, recently published an article entitled, ‘Microfinance in India: Twin Steps towards Self-Regulation.’ Continue Reading »

According to a paper published by Mr Xavier Reille of CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), “Few countries boasted as strong and as vibrant a microfinance sector than Morocco, where microfinance institutions (MFIs) saw the size of their combined loan portfolio multiply 11 times between 2004 and 2007.” Continue Reading »

At a conference titled, “Beyond Existing Microfinance, What Next?,” Ghana Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (M0FEP), Microfinance Director Kobina Amoah commented on the need for financial institutions to provide consumer education and protection in order to safeguard consumers’ rights. Continue Reading »

While launching a management information system (MIS) that intends to strengthen the monitoring process for banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs), Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman urged local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to agree on a single nationwide interest rate in a “transparent” and “logical” manner. Continue Reading »