by Christine Chang -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Credit Rating Agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) Upgrades Mexican Microfinance Institution (MFI) Compartamos Banco

Compartamos Banco, a publicly-listed microfinance institution (MFI) based in Mexico, has been upgraded by credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) to ‘mxAA’ and ‘mxA-1+’ for its long and short-term ratings, respectively. Compartamos Banco’s local bank bonds issued in August 2009, COMPART 09, were also upgraded to ‘mxAA’ and ‘mxA-1+’ with a ‘stable’ outlook.

by Eric McKay -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Compartamos Banco, a Mexican Microfinance Bank, Reports 33% Increases in Net Income and Total Loan Portfolio for 2009

Compartamos Banco, a Mexican microfinance bank, reports that both its net income and its total loan portfolio increased by 33 percent in 2009. Fernando Alvarez Toca, the CEO of Compartamos Banco, reflected upon 2009 as “one of the most challenging years in Compartamos’ history” due to the global downturn [1].

by Hio Kyeng Lee -

MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Banco Compartamos SA Reports Strong 3Q09 Results Despite Challenging Macroeconomic Conditions

     Despite challenging economic times, Banco Compartamos SA, a microfinance bank located in Mexico City, has reported strong results for third quarter of 2009. Compartamos reported a total loan portfolio of 7,071 million pesos or 548 million USD, or an increase of 40.2 percent from the previous year.[1, 2] The number of new clients reached 1.4 million active clients resulting from an increase of 36.1 percent of new clients over the past year.[1,2] Compartamos states that global macroeconomic environment has not negatively affected client demand.[2, pg.4] The average outstanding loan balance per client increased slightly by 3.1 percent to 4,968 pesos or 385 USD in third quarter of 2009.[2, pg.4] Compartamos’ core product called “Credito Mujer” (group loans) represents 74.2 percent of the total loan portfolio in third quarter of 2009.[2, pg.4] The Bank states that it “restructured the loan origination process in higher risk profile products, establishing stricter policies to avoid over indebting customers.”[2, pg. 4]

by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Banco Compartamos SA Applies for Banking License to Accept Deposits from Clients

Banco Compartamos SA, a publicly traded Mexican bank and the largest microfinance institution (MFI) in Latin America with USD 587.8 million in total assets, plans to apply for a license to expand its banking services [1, 2, 3]. The license will allow the bank to take deposits by offering savings accounts to clients. It will also allow third parties to use the deposits to issue credit to and take interest payments from some of Compartamos´ 1.2 million customers.

by Christopher Maggio -

MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Banco Compartamos and Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD), Inc. Raise Funds in Mexican Corporate Bond and Philippine Corporate Note Markets Worth Ps. 1,000 million (USD 75.8 Million) and USD 10.4 Million, Respectively

In August of 2009 two microfinance institutions (MFIs) raised funds through offerings in capital markets. One was Compartamos Banco of Mexico[1], which raised funds in the corporate bond market, and the other was CARD of Philippines, which raised funds in the corporate note market [3,4,].

by Bharathi Ram -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Mexican Microfinance Institution Banco Compartamos Reports Second Quarter Results; Wall Street Journal Analysts See the Bank’s Target Market to be Largely ‘Recession Proof’

Banco Compartamos, a Mexican microfinance bank, announced its non-audited financial results for the second quarter ending June 30, 2009. The figures were announced in pesos and have been converted here to US dollars. The figures adhere to the requirements of the Comision Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV), the Mexican banking and securities regulator [4]. Compartamos underwent an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in April 2007, and has since been publicly traded on the Mexican Stock Exchange. The highlights of the report were the net income increase of 31 percent compared to the same quarter of last year. The result gains more significance when the global financial recession and performance of the overall banking system is taken into account. While filing the report with the Mexican Stock Exchange, the bank has stated that Net profit was Ps 327 million (USD 24.7 million), up from the Ps.249 million (USD 18.8 million) recorded in the second quarter of 2008. Earnings per Share (EPS) was Ps.0.76, up from the Ps.0.58 per share for the second quarter of 2008 [1].

by Laura Anderson -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Mexican Microfinance Institution Banco Compartamos Reports First Quarter Results

Banco Compartamos SA, a Mexican microfinance bank reported first quarter Net Interest Income after provisions rose 27.3 percent over the previous year to 913 million pesos (USD 69.6 million), and Net Income increased 14.7 percent from a year earlier to 288 million pesos (USD 21.9 million).  The increase was due primarily to an increase in interest income of 36.9 percent resulting from a 42.4 percent growth in the bank’s loan portfolio to 6.3 billion pesos (USD 480 million) due to a larger client base. Total active clients rose to 1,200,124 or an increase of 40.1 percent over first quarter 2008.  Offsetting these improvements was a 115.2 percent increase in interest expense due to the increase in leverage to finance this growth and secure funds in the volatile financial environment. 

by Ryan Hogarth -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Compartamos Announces 2008 Fourth Quarter Earnings Over Webcast

The Mexican microfinance bank, Banco Compartamos, announced its audited financial results for the fourth quarter of 2008 (4Q08) in a conference call. The figures were announced in pesos and have been converted here to US dollars. The figures adhere to the requirements of the Comision Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV), the Mexican banking and securities regulator. Compartamos underwent an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in April 2007, and has since been publicly traded on the Mexican Stock Exchange. The webcast is archived and can be accessed through this link. The 4Q08 Financial Statement is available for download here.

by Jennifer Lee -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: ING Review of Citigroup’s Microfinance Activities and Its Syndicated Loan Securitizations for Compartamos, SKS Microfinance, and BRAC

The Dutch Bank ING published its updated 2008 study on commercial bank microfinance activity, called “A Billion to Gain? The Next Phase”. A MicroCapital summary of the paper can be read here. MicroCapital is reviewing the microfinance activities of several of large international banks covered in the study, such as Citigroup (Citi).

by Stephen Son -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: New York Times Reports on Controversial Microfinance Giant Banco Compartamos of Mexico

The New York Times has reported on the ongoing controversy surrounding Banco Compartamos, a for-profit microfinance bank in Mexico whose practices have drawn criticism from many traditional voices in the microfinance field.