A group of 179 non-governmental microfinance institutions (MFIs) recently received conditional licenses to operate in Bangladesh for three years. The licenses were granted by the country’s Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA), a government agency that supervises the transparency and accountability of MFIs in the country. The newly licensed organizations will operate in the 37 districts that have the highest levels of poverty in Bangladesh.
In order to receive permanent microcredit licensing, each MFI must achieve a loan portfolio of BDT 5 million (USD 64,500) and at least 1,000 borrowers at the end of the three-year period.
The MFIs that received the licenses were selected from 1,212 applicants. As of July 2015, 17 additional MFIs await a licensing decision from MRA.
By Mathew Cerf, Research Associate
About Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA)
The Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA) is the regulator of non profit microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Bangladesh. MRA has three primary functions, including the licensing of MFIs, the supervision of MFIs for compliance with licensing requirements and the enforcement of sanctions in cases of non-compliance. In addition, MRA conducts audits and addresses customer complaints. 
Sources and Additional Resources
[1] The Financial Express, “Another band of 179 NGOs bag license for microcredit operations,”http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/07/02/98834
[2] MicroCapital Universe Profile, “Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA)”,http://microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Microcredit+Regulatory+Authority+%28MRA%29
Did you know that MicroCapital also publishes its Microfinance Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at https://www.microcapital.org/products-page/
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