MICROFINANCE EVENT: Compartamos Banco to Hold Conference Call to Announce Fourth Quarter Earnings

Compartamos Banco Fourth Quarter 2008 Conference Call

February 26, 2009, 11:00 AM EST, http://www.videonewswire/event.asp?id=55283

Compartamos Banco, a Mexican microfinance bank, will announce its 2008 Fourth Quarter earnings over a publicly broadcast online conference call at 12:00 Eastern Standard Time on February 26, 2009. The Mexico City headquartered bank, claims that it is the largest lender to micro-businesses in Latin America. According to the MIX market, Compartamos served 839 thousand active borrowers at the end of 2008 with a gross loan portfolio of USD 413.8 million, and had accumulated USD 356.8 million in savings.

Compartamos (“let’s share” in Spanish) was established as a faith-based NGO in 1990. In 1997, it transitioned to a commercialized MFI. Compartamos received much publicity in April 2007 after undergoing a controversial Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the New York and Mexican Stock Exchanges. The IPO raised eyebrows due to the large profits it generated in an industry with a perceived social agenda (USD 458 million for early investors). As reported by MicroCapital, The IPO was 13 times oversubscribed, and share prices jumped 32.2 percent on the first day of trading. On the Mexican Stock Exchange, shares of Compartamos jumped as high as 53.53 pesos (USD 3.55) after the company priced the offer at 40 pesos (USD 2.70) per share. The bank’s shares have since dropped, and closed at USD 1.85 on February 19^th, 2009.

Some argued that the bank became more interested in pleasing investors than in fighting poverty. Others argued that the IPO proved to private investors that microfinance could be profitable, and opened the doors to investment capital necessary to reach the immense global demand for microfinance loans, estimated by the Deutsche Bank to be USD 250 billion. For more information on Compartamos’ IPO, please refer to this MicroCapital story.

In 2007, Compartamos had USD 209.5 million in total equity and USD 467.9 million in total assets. Its return on equity (ROE) was 46 percent and its return on assets (ROA) was 20 percent. In comparison, the New York Times reported that the average return on equity for Mexican commercial banks was 15 percent, and the average return on assets for self-sufficient organizations was 5.5 percent. Compartamos’ 2007 net income was USD 81.5 million. The announcement of its 2008 earnings will undoubtedly be watched with much intrigue.

To view the webcast, log on to the web at http://www.videonewswire/event.asp?id=55283. The webcast will also be archived at http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=55283. For more information, contact Maria Barona by email at mbarona@i-advize.com or by phone at 212-406-3691.

By Ryan Hogarth, Research Assistant

Additional Resources:

Compartamos Banco: Home

MicroCapital article, February 13, 2008: “Compartamos Windfall One Year Later”

MicroCapital article, April 25, 2007: “Mexican Microfinance Institution Compartamos Makes Strong Market Debut”

MicroCapital article, February 22, 2008: “Compartamos of Mexico to Hold Fourth Quarter Conference Call”

MicroCapital article, February 28, 2008: “Banco Compartamos, Mexico’s Largest Microfinance Bank, Reports 33.7 Percent Increase in Net Income in 2007”

MicroCapital article, April 7, 2008: “New York Times Reports on Controversial Microfinance Giant Banco Compartamos of Mexico”

MicroCapital article, September 2, 2008: “Banco Compartamos’ Client Base Reaches One Million”

Milwaukee Business Journal: “Webcast Alert: Compartamos Banco, S.A. Announces Fourth Quarter 2008 Earnings Webcast”

MIX market: Compartamos Profile

New York Times: “Microfinance’s Success Sets off a Debate in Mexico”, by Elisabeth Malkin