Pakistan’s central banking authority, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), has reportedly stated that the value of deposits at microfinance banks (MFBs) in the country decreased from PKR 10.3 billion (USD 120 million) as of December 31, 2010, to PKR 8.9 billion (USD 104 million) as of March 31, 2011.
Category: Trends/Challenges
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFTransparency Announces First Microfinance Data Submissions for Transparent Pricing Initiative in the Philippines
MFTransparency, a US-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) that collects and publishes information on microcredit products and pricing, recently received the first data submissions from Filipino microfinance institutions (MFIs) that are participating in its “Transparent Pricing Initiative.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroRate’s “The State of Microfinance Investments 2011” Indicates Resilience During Economic Downturn
MicroRate, a US-based microfinance rating agency, recently announced the release of its sixth annual survey of microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), “The State of Microfinance Investments 2011.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microcredit Summit Campaign: 45m Indians Move Out of Poverty, Earning Over $1.25 Per Day Because of Microfinance
The Microcredit Summit Campaign, a program of the US-based advocacy group RESULTS Educational Fund, recently released a report indicating that nearly 9 million Indian households involved in microfinance began earning more than USD 1.25 per day between 1990 and 2010.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Selective Knowledge: Reporting Biases in Microfinance Data, by Jonathan Bauchet and Jonathan Morduch, Published by Financial Access Initiative (FAI) at New York University’s Robert F Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and Hunter College
By Jonathan Bauchet and Jonathan Morduch, published by the Financial Access Initiative (FAI) at New York University’s Robert F Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and Hunter College, June 2009, 39 pages, available at:
http://www.nyu.edu/projects/morduch/documents/articles/2008-06-Selective-knowledge.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Electronic “Global Disability Rights Library” Offered to Encourage Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Development Initiatives Including Microfinance
The Global Disability Rights Library (GDRL) project, an initiative of the US International Council on Disabilities and the University of Iowa’s WiderNet Project, with funding support from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has announced a call for applications to receive a free digital GDRL [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Centre (MFC) for Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States’ “Financial Education Program” Reaches 100,000 Low-Income Households in Eastern Europe, Central Asia
The Microfinance Centre (MFC) for Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States, a regional network of 110 microfinance institutions (MFIs), announced its Financial Education Program (FEP) has reached 100,000 low-income households.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Smart Campaign Revises “Client Protection Principles” for Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
The Smart Campaign, a global initiative to improve client protection in the microfinance industry, recently announced revisions to its “Client Protection Principles,” which are intended to help microfinance institutions (MFIs) improve their business through good ethics [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Share, Spandana Sphoorty, Asmitha Consider Merger, Continue Debt Restructuring Talks
As part of their ongoing efforts to manage significant losses in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs) Share Microfin Limited, Spandana Sphoorty Financial Limited and Asmitha Microfin Limited reportedly are in the early stages of considering the possibility of merging with one another.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Economists Question Myanmar’s (Burma’s) Microfinance Plan Due to Corruption, Macroeconomic Instability
Economists cite corruption and macroeconomic instability as potential threats to effectiveness of a microfinance scheme that is being developed by the government of Myanmar (Burma).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Survey: Nigeria Falls Behind South Africa, Kenya, Botswana in Financial Access
The “Access to Financial Services in Nigeria 2010 Survey” conducted by Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), a nonprofit financial sector development organization funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the US-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, indicates that Nigeria lags behind South Africa, Botswana and Kenya in access to finance.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Commercial Banks, Private Equity Investors Reevaluate India’s Microfinance Sector in Light of Draft Microfinance Bill
Since the Indian government released a draft microfinance bill in July 2011, commercial banks and private equity investors reportedly have expressed a new willingness to consider investing in microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Jonathan Lewis Describes Opportunity Collaboration as Addressing Poverty by “Doing the Opposite of What Most Other Conferences Do”
Forbes, a US-based magazine, recently published an interview with Jonathan Lewis, founder and chief executive officer of the annual Opportunity Collaboration business retreat and networking summit that he describes as “laser-focused on poverty reduction”.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The Philippines Mobile Banking Market Handles $10b in Transactions
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, reportedly has indicated that the number of mobile banking transactions in the country has reached an aggregate of 150 million, totaling PHP 440 billion (USD 10.4 billion) through December 2010.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pakistan-Based Islamic Microfinance Network (IMFN) Recruiting Members
Islamic Microfinance Network (IMFN), a Pakistan-based nonprofit organization that aims to promote Islamic microfinance worldwide, recently announced the opening of its membership to both national and international organizations that work in Islamic microfinance [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Industry Players Say Indian Microfinance Institutions Should Not be Crushed Even Though “Some MFIs Have Gone on the Wrong Path”
The Times of India, an Indian newspaper, recently reported on microfinance industry actors arguing that microfinance institutions (MFIs) should not be compromised by “the greed of a few big MFIs” and associated regulations such as the Andhra Pradesh Microfinance Act, which was passed in December 2010 to regulate MFIs following multiple suicides.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution Satin Creditcare Reports $22m in Capital Raises, Securitizations; Upgraded by CARE Ratings to “MFI 2”
Satin Creditcare Network Limited (Satin), a microfinance institution (MFI) headquartered in Delhi, recently announced that it received an upgraded credit rating from India-based CARE Ratings following a fundraising streak totaling INR 1 billion (USD 22.3 million).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (BSFL) Raises $150m from Institutional Investors, Commercial Banks
Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (BSFL), an Indian microfinance institution (MFI) and member of the BASIX Group of companies, has reportedly raised INR 7 billion (USD 150 million) in debt and equity commitments from institutional investors and commercial banks, in what has been described as a “lifeline” by BASIX chairman Vijay Mahajan.