The Bank of Ghana (BOG), Ghana’s central bank and main financial regulator, recently announced an increase in minimum capital requirements for microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Ghana from GHS 100,000 (USD 48,000) to GHS 500,000 (USD 240,000).
Category: Regulation
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Depositors Withdraw Savings from Microfinance Firms in Kumasi, Ghana amid Lack of Safety Nets for Clients
High rates of deposit withdrawals reportedly are occurring in Ghanaian city of Kumasi, which allegedly is attributed to the lack of safety nets protecting depositors in case firms are shut down by the Bank of Ghana (BoG), the country’s main financial regulator.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Risk Management Initiative in Microfinance (RIM) Launched
MFX Solutions, a US-based company that provides currency hedging solutions for microfinance institutions (MFIs) and microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), recently announced that it is one of eight partners launching the Risk Management Initiative in Microfinance (RIM), which will aim to mitigate challenges MFIs face in risk management; promote best practices; institute global MFI risk management standards; and protect MFIs and their clients from internal and external risks.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Creditinfo Group’s Credit Reference Bureau Licensed in Tanzania
The Bank of Tanzania (BOT), Tanzania’s central banking authority, has granted an operating licence for the establishment of a credit reference bureau [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Uganda Government Proposes 10% Tax on Mobile Money Transaction Fees
The Ugandan federal government recently announced in its 2013/14 budget a proposed ten-percent tax on all mobile money transactions in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Myanmar Licences First Private Insurers
The Myanmar government reportedly has granted operating licenses to five insurance companies in line with its financial reform policy. International Kanbawza Insurance, a subsidiary of Kanbawza Bank (KBZ) is the first insurance company to have started operation in the city of Yangon, providing both standard insurance and microinsurance[1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Jamaica’s Ministry of Finance Delays Microfinance Institutions’ Exemptions from Money Lending Act, Blocking Wholesale Funding from Development Bank of Jamaica
Members of the Jamaica Micro Financing Association (JaMFA), a committee of eight microfinance institutions formed in 2008, reportedly have had their access to relatively cheap wholesale funds from the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), a state-owned bank, blocked due to delays in the Ministry of Finance in renewing their exemptions from the Money Lending Act, a law established in Jamaica in 1938 [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Philippines Allows Foreign Investors to Hold Stakes of up to 60% in Rural Banks
Philippine President Benigno Aquino reportedly has signed a law, entitled “An Act Allowing the Infusion of Foreign Equity in the Capital of Rural Banks,” that will allow foreign investors to own as much as 60 percent of the voting stock in Philippine “rural banks,” which are sponsored by the government of the Philippines for the purpose of promoting economic development in rural areas.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India Raises Interest Margin Cap to 12% for Larger Microfinance Institutions
For non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and microfinance institutions (MFIs) of all sizes, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central banking institution, recently set the margin cap, the difference between the amount charged to the borrower and the institution’s cost of funds at 12 percent at least until April 1, 2014 [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) of India Proposes Microinsurance Firms Provide Maturity Benefit Policies to Boost Sales
In an effort to boost sales of microinsurance in India, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), the country’s regulatory body for the insurance industry, reportedly has proposed that microinsurance firms offer policies with maturity benefits [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Azerbaijan Microfinance Association Considers Credit Bureau for Microlenders
Teymur Heybatov, a representative of the Azerbaijan-Central Asia Financial Markets Infrastructure (ACAFI) advisory services project of the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), reportedly has announced that a meeting will be held with the leadership of the Azerbaijan Microfinance Association (AMA) to discuss establishing a credit bureau for microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Azerbaijan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nine Indian Impact Investment Companies Forming “Indian Impact Investor Council”
Nine companies that specialize in impact investment reportedly will be establishing the “Indian Impact Investor Council” (IIIC) to establish guidelines helping investment companies in India regulate their efforts to meet social goals.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Kenya Grants Deposit License to U&I Deposit Taking Microfinance Limited
The Central Bank of Kenya, the country’s central banking authority, reportedly has granted a deposit-taking license to U&I Deposit Taking Microfinance Limited (U&I), a Kenyan domestically-owned microfinance company.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: State Bank of Pakistan’s Credit Guarantee Scheme for Small, Rural Businesses Extends Loan Repayment Term to 5 Years
The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP’s) Credit Guarantee Scheme for Small and Rural Businesses (CGS), which aims to increase financing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in rural areas via retail banks, reportedly will extend client loan terms from three years to five years in an effort to increase economic opportunities by facilitating the purchase of tractors and other agricultural tools.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: PKF Chartered Accountants Advises Royal Bank Zimbabwe to Downscale to Microfinance Institution
PKF Chartered Accountants, the Zimbabwean member of UK-based businesses services firm PKF International, reportedly has advised Royal Bank Zimbabwe Limited, a defunct bank, to convert its commercial banking license to a microfinance institution (MFI) license, which carries lower capital requirements set by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), the country’s central banking institution.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ghana Institute for Management and Public Administration, Venture Capital Trust Fund Establish Centre for Impact Investing
Venture Capital Trust Fund (VCTF), an initiative of the government of Ghana to provide low-cost capital to private businesses, reportedly has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government-run business school Institute for Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), establishing a Centre for Impact Investing.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank of Ghana Grants Licenses to 171 Financial Institutions as 116 Fraud Cases Involving Unlicensed Institutions are Pending
Dr Yaw Gyima-Larbi, the head of microfinance and banking supervision at the Bank of Ghana (BoG), reportedly has announced that the central bank has granted final operating licenses to 171 financial institutions.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean, Savings Groups Leading to Advocacy, Microinsurance in the Philippines
“Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean in 2012: Differing Behavior Across Subregions;” by Maria Luisa Hayem; published by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF); 2013; 27 pages; available at http://www5.iadb.org/mif/HOME/Knowledge/tabid/426/idPublication/78709/language/en-US/Default.aspx
This report from the US-based Multilateral Investment Fund provides an analysis of remittances received across national borders by people in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).