The Bangladesh government recently announced that it will form a committee to investigate allegations of “financial irregularities” against Grameen Bank, a microfinance institution (MFI) started in Bangladesh by Dr Muhammad Yunus.

Mr A N H Mostafa Kamal, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the ministry of finance, said his watchdog group has sought explanation of why Grameen Bank is not being operated under the Microcredit Regulatory Act 2006, the regulation governing MFIs in Bangladesh. Further details are not yet available.

Grameen Bank has the equivalent of USD 1.4 billion in assets as of 2009 as indicated by the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the microfinance information clearinghouse.

By Witt Gatchell, Research Associate

About Grameen Bank:
Grameen Bank is a Bangladeshi microfinance institution that provides collateral-free loans to poor entrepreneurs in rural areas. It was founded in the late 1970′s by Dr Muhammad Yunus, who, along with Grameen Bank, won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work developing the concept of microfinance. As of February 2010, it reports 8 million borrowers, 97 percent of whom are women. With 2,563 branches, Grameen Bank provides services to 81,343 villages. Grameen Bank has the equivalent of USD 1.4 billion in assets as of 2009 as indicated by the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the microfinance information clearinghouse.

Sources and Additional Resources:
[1] BdNews24.com: “Grameen Bank operation in question” http://bdnews24.com/details.php?id=182418&cid=2

[2] Business Standard: “Bangladesh to probe operations of Grameen Bank” http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/bangladesh-to-probe-operatio…

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dr Muhammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank and Winner of Nobel Peace Prize for Work in Microfinance, Cleared of Allegations of Illegal Money Transfer to Grameen Kalyan
http://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-dr-muhammad-yunus-founder…

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Grameen Bank
http://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Gra…

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