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. Continue Reading »

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]. Continue Reading »

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. Continue Reading »

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. Continue Reading »

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]. Continue Reading »

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. Continue Reading »

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). Continue Reading »

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]. Continue Reading »

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. Continue Reading »

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. Continue Reading »

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. Continue Reading »

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 Continue Reading »

A Conversation with 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus

2:30 PM – 4:30 PM, June 7, 2008, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, Massachusetts

As a part of its series of public affairs forums, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum (JFK Library) will host Dr. Muhammad Yunus for a discussion about his book, Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism to be moderated by Dr. Lincoln C. Chen, the founder of the Global Equity Initiative (GEI) at Harvard University and a Commissioner at the Commission on Human Security (CHS). The event will include a question and answer session with the audience followed by a book signing. The forum is free and open to the public and registration is required to guarantee a seat. Those interested may register online or by calling +1 (617) 514-1643. Continue Reading »

PODER PHILANTHROPY FORUM

MARCH 11-12, 2008, GUSMAN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, MIAMI, FLORIDA

PODER Magazine, a monthly publication written for business and political elite focusing on the growing influence of Latin America and the US Hispanic community, announced on Tuesday that it will be hosting, along with its partners, a Philanthropy Forum designed to encourage increased collaboration by gathering global practitioners and scholars as well as to foster innovation in private and corporate philanthropy in the region. According to the PR Newswire release, co-sponsoring partners include the City of Miami, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Foreign Policy magazine, Georgetown University, Impremedia, the Inter-American Development Bank, Miami Dade College, the Miami Herald Publishing Company, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation (Knight Foundation), Synergos.org, and Univision. Continue Reading »

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Bangladesh Chief Adviser Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed Wednesday formally released a commemorative postage stamp along with a first day cover (An envelope with a stamp canceled on its first day of sale) on Professor Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank for winning the Nobel Prize October of last year. Continue Reading »

According to the Indo Asian New Service and the India Daily, Bangladeshi Nobel Laureate Mohammed Yunus of the Grameen Foundation announced that he would join the political process in Bangladesh. Quoting from the article in the Daily India, Mohammed Yunus said, “If people of Bangladesh think that my entry in politics will improve things I am ready to risk a chance.” Mr. Yunus also indicated that his official entrance will not be an easy decision because his family and close friends do not want to see his name tarnished as is sometimes the case in the democratic process. He does, however, wish to use the opportunities provided to him through his reception of the Nobel Peace Prize last year to continue making positive changes in the region. Mr. Yunus mentioned an election in the near future, suggesting entrance into the Parliamentary elections that have been postponed indefinitely since their scheduled date of 21 January 2007 and their rescheduled date of 22 January 2007.

Continue reading “Mohammed Yunus of Grameen Bank Expresses Interest in Translating his Success in Microfinance to Bangladeshi Politics”

Mohammed Yunus, head of Grameen Bank and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, attended a two-day international conference in New Delhi, India on Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha (nonviolence movement) centenary with Sonia Gandhi, India’s chief of Congress. In a conversation between the two, Mr. Yunus expressed his desire to promote microfinance institutions for women in India and for the Indian Congress to head it. Ms. Gandhi has not officially agreed, but party insiders report a positive reaction.

Continue reading “Mohammed Yunus of Grameen Bank Uses Influence to Encourage the Indian Congress to Open a Nonprofit Microcredit Institution”