Dr Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank, a nonprofit microcredit organization in Bangladesh, has officially resigned from his post as managing director in accordance with a ruling of the country’s Supreme Court [1].
Category: Yunus Wins Nobel
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bangladesh Supreme Court Dismisses Attempt by Dr Muhammad Yunus to Remain as Managing Director of Microfinance Institution (MFI) Grameen Bank
Bangladesh’s Supreme Court has dismissed Dr Muhammad Yunus’ final bid to overturn the Bangladesh High Court’s ruling upholding the effort of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the central bank of Bangladesh, to remove Dr Yunus from his position as managing director of Grameen Bank [1] [2] [3].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bangladesh Probe Clears Dr Yunus of Misappropriation of Norwegian Aid Money
A recent probe by the government of Bangladesh has cleared Dr Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, of misusing Norwegian aid money. The Norwegian government previously cleared Dr Yunus of any allegations of mishandling funds following the release of a Norwegian documentary in 2010 that accused Dr Yunus of diverting approximately USD 96 million of aid money from Grameen Bank to Grameen Kalyan, a sister company of Grameen Bank that offers affordable health insurance to Grameen members.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Rally for Dr Yunus Follows His Removal as Head of Grameen Bank, Analysts Discuss Future Implications
In Bangladesh, 3.7 million people have reportedly signed a petition urging the prime minister of Bangladesh to allow Dr Yunus to continue as the head of Grameen Bank. The event, organized by “The Citizens’ Committee to Protect the Honour of Nobel Laureate Professor Yunus,” was held after the Bangladesh High Court upheld the argument of the government of Bangladesh invalidating the original appointment of Dr Yunus as the managing director of Grameen Bank.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Foundation Founder Alex Counts Expresses Concern Over Removal of Dr Muhammad Yunus as Managing Director of Microfinance Institution (MFI) Grameen Bank
Founder and chief executive officer Alex Counts of the Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit, recently expressed his concern in an open letter over the removal of Dr Muhammad Yunus as managing director of Grameen Bank, a Bangladeshi microfinance institution (MFI) that manages total assets of USD 1.4 billion [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dr Muhammad Yunus Says Borrowers’ Control of Microfinance Institution Grameen Bank is Key to Success
In an email exchange with US-based newspaper The Wall Street Journal, Grameen Bank founder and Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr Muhammad Yunus has been asked for his thoughts on efforts by the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the central bank of Bangladesh, to remove him from his position as managing director of Grameen Bank [1] [2] [3].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dr Muhammad Yunus Appeals Bangladesh High Court Decision Upholding His Removal as Managing Director of Microfinance Institution (MFI) Grameen Bank
Grameen Bank Founder and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Dr Muhammad Yunus has appealed against the Bangladesh High Court’s recent ruling in favor of an attempt by the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the central bank of Bangladesh, to remove Dr Yunus from his position as managing director of Grameen Bank. [1] [2]. The Grameen Bank is a Bangladeshi microfinance institution (MFI) that manages total assets of USD 1.4 billion.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Crowd of 20,000 Protests Bangladesh Bank Attempts to Remove Dr Yunus as Managing Director of Microfinance Institution (MFI) Grameen Bank, US Secretary of State Clinton Among Those Offering Support
An estimated 20,000 employees and customers of Grameen Bank, a Bangladeshi microfinance institution (MFI) that manages total assets of USD 1.4 billion, convened in protest against the move of Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of Bangladesh, to dismiss Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus as managing director of the MFI [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bangladeshi Court Confirms Central Bank Decision to Remove Dr Yunus as Managing Director of Microfinance Institution (MFI) Grameen Bank
The Bangladesh High Court ruled on March 8, 2011, in favor of the effort by Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of Bangladesh, to remove Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus from his position as managing director of Grameen Bank, a Bangladeshi microfinance institution (MFI) that manages total assets of USD 1.4 billion as of 2009.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Yunus Continues as Grameen Bank Managing Director after Bangladesh Bank Asks Him to Step Down
Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of Bangladesh, has reportedly attempted to remove Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus from his position as managing director of Grameen Bank, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Bangladesh in which the government holds a 25-percent stake.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bangladeshi Government Asks Yunus to Step Down as Director of Grameen Bank
The finance minister of Bangladesh, Mr Ama Muhith, reportedly said that the government has asked Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Bangladesh, to transfer his authority as director of the MFI to the deputy director on the grounds that, at age 70, Dr Yunus’ age exceeds the retirement age limit by five years [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dr Muhammed Yunus, Winner of Nobel Prize for Work in Microfinance, Accused of Improperly Transferring $100m from Grameen Bank to Insurer Grameen Kalyan
Bdnews24.com, a web-based Bangladeshi newspaper, reports that Muhammed Yunus, the founder of microfinance institution (MFI) Grameen Bank of Bangladesh and a 2006 Nobel Prize winner for championing microcredit, has been accused of secretly transferring approximately USD 100 million in 1996 to Grameen Kalyan, a sister company of Grameen Bank that offers affordable health insurance to Grameen members and their families but does not engage in microlending.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Muhammad Yunus and Vikram Akula Debate Microfinance Models at Annual Meeting of Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)
At the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, a forum on international development founded in 2005 by former US President Bill Clinton, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and Vikram Akula, founder of Indian SKS Microfinance, which recently went public, discussed different models for microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nonprofit Microfinance Organization Grameen America Opens New Branch in New York Under Supervision of Muhammad Yunus
Grameen America, a non-profit microfinance organization founded by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, recently held the grand opening of a new Manhattan, New York, branch [1]. This grand opening brings the total number of branches of Grameen America to four, with branches in Queens and Brooklyn, New York, and a third in Omaha, Nebraska. The ceremony took place at City College of New York and was hosted by the Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies. The event featured previous Grameen America borrowers who had used their loans develop retail and culinary businesses [2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mohammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank, Calls Out Loan Shark Organizations
In an interview with Vikash Humar, Editor in Chief of Microfinance Focus, Mohammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, blasted profit-seeking microfinance institutions (MFIs). He likened these institutions, which he defined as those who charge more than 15 percent plus the cost of funds, to the loan sharks that necessitated the foundation Grameen. While reluctant to name names, Mr Yunus offered Compartamos Banco, a Mexican microfinance bank founded in 1990, as an example of one of these firms. Mr Yunus additionally spoke out against IPOs by MFIs, such as Compartamos Banco and SKS Microfinance, a microfinance institution (MFI), launched in 1998, which caters to women clients in India.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mohammed Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank, Calls for Change in African Banking Laws to Increase Effectiveness of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
Mohammed Yunus, a 2006 Nobel Prize winner for championing microcredit and the founder of Grameen Bank, a microfinance institution (MFI) located in Bangladesh, recently was reported to have said that the dearth of microcredit laws in many African countries is preventing access to loans for millions of the continent’s poor people.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Russian Delegation Visits Grameen Bank of Bangladesh in Efforts to Scale-Up Microfinance Industry and Mitigate Financial Crisis
Bangladeshi news source The Daily Star reported that a high-profile Russian delegation visited the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh to examine how the country regulates its relatively saturated microfinance industry. The delegation observed the operations and legal structure of Grameen Bank in hopes to replicate the structure in Russia. The four-day visit came as Russia explores ways to scale-up its microcredit program to fill a void left by the global financial meltdown. “The global financial crisis has affected many small businesses in Russia while the conventional banks are not willing to finance them for risk involvement in such financing,” said delegation leader and Russian Deputy Minister for Economic Development, Anna Popova, at a joint press conference with Muhammad Yunus in Dhaka City.
PAPER WRAP-UP: Social Entrepreneurship: The Case for Definition, Mr. Roger L. Martin and Mrs. Sally Osberg
Authored by Mr. Roger L. Martin, the Dean of the University of Toronto’s (U of T) Rotman School of Management (Rotman) and a board member at the Skoll Foundation, and Mrs. Sally Osberg, President and CEO of the Skoll Foundation, published Spring 2007 in the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR), a publication of the Center for Social Innovation (CSI) at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business (GSB), 13 pages, available at http://www.skollfoundation.org/media/skoll_docs/2007SP_feature_martinosberg.pdf