Published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); November 2, 2012, 47 pages; available at: http://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/I-SIP%20Report_1.pdf
Category: Regulation
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACLEDA Bank of Cambodia to Launch Microfinance Operations in Myanmar in January 2013
In Myanmar, which recently lifted restrictions barring wholly foreign-owned direct investments, ACLEDA Bank Public Limited Company (PLC), a Cambodian commercial bank specializing in microfinance, plans to launch microfinance operations by January 2013.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to Implement Financial Literacy Framework by March 2013
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the nation’s financial regulatory authority, recently announced plans to implement a financial literacy framework aimed at enhancing financial inclusion of unbanked people by the first quarter of 2013.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, World Bank’s FIRST Initiative Report: Life, Health Microinsurance Market Demand is 35m Policies
At a recent “Roundtable on Microinsurance” held in Karachi, Pakistan, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), in concert with the Financial Sector Reform and Strengthening (FIRST) Initiative, a program of the World Bank that funds technical assistance for financial sectors in low- and middle-income countries, released a diagnostic report on the demand for and supply of microinsurance in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Opportunity International Adds Savings Services In Colombia By Converting Into Microfinance Bank With Funding From Citi Foundation
Opportunity International, a nonprofit organization headquartered in the USA that provides financial products in 24 developing countries, recently announced the establishment of a regulated microfinance bank that will take over the credit offerings it provides to underserved people in Bogotá, Colombia, in addition to rendering savings services.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank for International Settlements Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion Conference Emphasizes Minimizing Regulation For Smaller Transactions
The Financial Stability Institute of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), an international financial institution based in Basel, Switzerland, which aids central banks in their pursuit of monetary and financial stability, recently hosted its first Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) Conference with the theme “Promoting financial inclusion through proportionate standards and guidance.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India Asks Rural Banks to Open 25 Percent of New Branches in Unbanked Areas
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s financial regulatory authority, recently tasked regional rural banks (RRBs) to ensure that at least one-quarter of their proposed branches are sited in unbanked parts of the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Agricultural Sector To Benefit from Central Bank of Nigeria’s $3.9b Loan
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the country’s apex financial regulator, recently announced plans to disburse the sum of NGN 600 billion (USD 3.9 billion) as loans to small holder farmers.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank of Ghana Grants Final License to 90 Financial Institutions
Ninety financial institutions in Ghana recently received their final operating licenses from the Bank of Ghana (BOG), the country’s central bank.
SPECIAL REPORT: At European Microfinance Platform’s Microfinance Week, ADA, REDCAMIF Detail Support for MFIs, National Networks in Developing New Products as Part $7m Effort in Central America, Caribbean
This morning, representatives of Luxembourg-based nonprofit Appui au Développement Autonome (ADA) and the Red Centroamericana y del Caribe de Microfinanzas (REDCAMIF), a network of seven national microfinance networks, presented their progress to date on their joint effort to promote product innovation and capacity building among microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Central America and the Dominican Republic. The partnership, which was launched earlier in 2012, has a budget of EUR 5.5 million (USD 7 million) to be disbursed over a period of 4.5 years. The organizations have completed a survey of client needs in the region and have dedicated approximately 15 percent of the project budget to support networks in becoming self-sufficient, including through a fund to support national networks in developing products they can sell to their member MFIs.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Brazil Doubles Microfinance Loan Ceiling to $19,000
Brazil’s National Monetary Council, a body charged with regulating and monitoring Brazilian capital markets and financial institutions, recently increased the limit for each microcredit loan from BRL 20,000 (USD 9,840) to BRL 40,000 (USD 19,677).
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Centre for Microfinance Holds Third Microfinance Summit, Kathmandu, Nepal, February 14 – February 16, 2013
Event Name: 3rd Microfinance Summit Nepal
Event Date: February 14 – February 16, 2013
Event Location: Kathmandu, Nepal
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) Seeks Input On Capacity Building For Financial Inclusion
CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a US-based nonprofit policy and research center dedicated to advancing financial access for poor people worldwide, is calling for interested individuals to respond to a short survey designed to clarify the demand for and the supply of capacity building services needed to advance financial inclusion.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Microfinance Network Accepting Proposals To Present On “Microfinance as a Tool of Active Ageing”
The European Microfinance Network (EMN), a France-based NGO whose mission is to promote microfinance, microentrepreneurship and self employment to fight social and economic exclusion, recently announced plans to hold a debate on the topic “Microfinance as a tool of active ageing” on December 14, 2012, in Brussels.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Banks in Mongolia Back Movable Collateral Reforms in Effort to Boost Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Lending
The Mongolian Bankers Association (MBA), a nonprofit association of financial institutions in Mongolia; the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank Group; and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a development finance institution headquartered in London, recently hosted a roundtable event to deliberate on lending reforms with respect to broadening access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and other borrowers in Mongolia.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Analysis of Microfinance Investment Vehicles; Female Microfinance Clients in Pakistan; Life Microinsurance in the Philippines
“The State of Microfinance Investment 2012: MicroRate’s 7th Annual Survey and Analysis of MIVs;” published by MicroRate; October 2012; 17 pages; available at: http://www.microrate.com/downloads/78
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: South Africa Proposes “Twin Peaks” Financial Regulation System
At a conference in Cape Town, South Africa, hosted by the Alliance of Financial Inclusion (AFI), a nonprofit Thailand-based network of financial policymakers aimed at increasing access to financial services, South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announced that his country is considering the implementation of a “Twin Peaks” regulation system in an effort to foster financial inclusion, strengthen consumer protection, combat financial crime, promote financial education efforts and increase the accessibility of financial services.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution Bai Tushum and Partners of Kyrgyz Republic to Transform to Bank Status
Bai Tushum and Partners, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in the Kyrgyz Republic, reportedly has received permission from the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic, the central bank of the country, to become a bank.