Symbiotics's microfinance news feed

India's SKS raises $64 mln from anchor investors

info@symbiotics.ch — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:51:17 +0200

India's SKS Microfinance Ltd said on Tuesday it had secured about 3 billion rupees ($64 million) by allocating shares to anchor investors as part of an initial public offering to raise as much as $353 million.

EU Implements Guarantee Action Under Progress Microfinance Facility

info@symbiotics.ch — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:00:12 +0200

The European Union has published in the EU Official Journal of 24 July 2010 a notice addressed to intermediaries aiming to provide micro-credits or guarantees supporting micro-credits, about the implementation of the Guarantee Action under the European Progress Microfinance Facility. Among the 100 M€ channelled through Progress Facility, 25 M€ will be allocated to this Action Guarantee.

South Korea: High Interest Charged by Finance Companies Probed

info@symbiotics.ch — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:56:05 +0200

An investigation into finance companies began Friday after President Lee Myung-bak complained a day earlier that the companies are charging high interest rates while visiting a branch of a micro-finance foundation.

Compartamos Banco – Mexican Microfinance Company Reports 2Q10 Results

info@symbiotics.ch — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:13:39 +0200

Banco Compartamos, the leading Mexican microfinance bank today announced its non-audited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

Building Microfinance into an Asset Class

info@symbiotics.ch — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:08:08 +0200

The $44 billion global microfinance industry got a boost recently as private equity investor BlueOrchard attracted $195 million to a new fund aimed at helping microfinance lenders modernize their organizations, improve governance and risk management, and develop into fully-fledged financial institutions.

PFRDA to Launch Pension Scheme for Poor

info@symbiotics.ch — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:46:17 +0200

Interim pension regulator PFRDA on Thursday introduced a new scheme, NSP Lite, for the economically deprived sections of the society.

Sri Lanka to Regulate Micro-Finance Institutions

info@symbiotics.ch — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:35:20 +0200

Sri Lanka's government is to set up a dedicated authority to regulate micro-finance institutions to make their supervision more effective, a government minister said.

Ethical Investment: Can it Outperform Other Funds?

info@symbiotics.ch — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:50:18 +0200

Some investors might remain sceptical of ethical investment's ability to outperform its non-ethical rivals, but one expert has insisted that it can, and does, produce higher returns.

Microfinancing Spreads Beyond India’s Grassroots

info@symbiotics.ch — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:29:38 +0200

Traditionally, poor Indians have relied on private money lenders – often charging interest rates of at least 36 per cent per year – when they have needed to fund school fees, medical emergencies, weddings, or even working capital for their farms. Failure to pay often meant violence – or loss of treasured assets.

Agricultural Bank of China's Micro-Credit Loan Program in Rural Areas Expands Rapidly

info@symbiotics.ch — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:34:04 +0200

Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) loaned 82.9 billion yuan ($12.2 billion) in micro-credit to Chinese farmers in the first three months of the year, compared with 67.3 billion yuan in the whole of 2009.

India: SKS Microfinance IPO Gets CARE Grading of 4

info@symbiotics.ch — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:21:28 +0200

CARE assigns ‘CARE IPO Grade 4′ to the proposed IPO of SKS Microfinance Ltd.

Russia: Finance Ministry Poised to Establish Unit to Control Microfinance Institutions

info@symbiotics.ch — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:03:42 +0200

A separate division for control over the activity of microfinance institutions could be set up within the finance ministry, deputy finance minister Alexei Savatyugin said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Peru: Microlenders to Grow Loans at 2-3 Times the Rate of Traditional Banks

info@symbiotics.ch — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:09:17 +0200

Peru's microfinance association ASOMIF estimates that the sector will grow at a rate that is "two or three times" as fast as that of the traditional banking sector, ASOMIF manager Jorge Arias told BNamericas.

The Fundamental Premise of Securitisation: The Microfinance Case Study

info@symbiotics.ch — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:58:49 +0200

In a recent post in Microfinance Focus, Daniel Rozas and Vinod Kothari have argued that microfinance securitisation does not, in reality, separate ‘pool risk’ from ‘originator risk’ and hence should not be rated very differently from the originator of the portfolio. Some of the arguments are well reasoned out such as the lack of control over co-mingling of cashflows and lack of regulatory supervision on ‘bilateral assignments’. However, some of the other arguments presented beg greater scrutiny.

India: Private Equity Funds Step Up Investments in MFIs

info@symbiotics.ch — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:08:11 +0200

Private equity (PE) investments in microfinance institutions (MFIs), which fell by 12 per cent last year (2009), have recovered this year. Between January and June this year, MFIs have attracted PE investment totalling $84 million (about Rs 386.4 crore) — an increase of a little over 15 per cent over the first half of 2009.

India: Sahulat to Facilitate 500 Interest-Free Cooperative Branches

info@symbiotics.ch — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:17:44 +0200

The Sahulat Microfinance Society has decided to promote and facilitate 500 interest-free cooperative branches across the country by the end of 2016. The Society in its July 9 meeting held here also decided to establish four regional offices and training and research units.

India: SKS to Sell Shares July 28-July 30, Document Shows

info@symbiotics.ch — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:55:51 +0200

SKS Microfinance Ltd., India’s largest microfinance company, plans to sell shares in its $250 million initial public offering from July 28 to July 30, according to a sale document obtained by Bloomberg.

Abu Dhabi: Aabar invests $54m in Luxembourg funds

info@symbiotics.ch — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:47:52 +0200

Abu Dhabi's Aabar Investments, the largest stakeholder in Daimler, on Sunday said it has invested $54.2 million in two investment funds registered in Luxembourg.

India: World Bank to Lend $407 Mln for Microfinance, Quality Stats

info@symbiotics.ch — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:57:14 +0200

The World Bank and India today signed two agreements for a total loan of $407 million to scale up microfinance services in unbanked areas and improve capacity to generate quality statistics.

Citigroup, Inc to Establish Shariah-Compliant Microfinance Banks in Pakistan

info@symbiotics.ch — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:42:14 +0200

Citigroup, Inc will push the idea of creating Shariah-compliant microfinance banks for the needs of millions of Muslims, who have previously been excluded from micro-finance because of Islam’s prohibition on paying interest, said a senior official on Monday.

Egypt Readies Bills to Reform Investment Climate

info@symbiotics.ch — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 18:29:32 +0200

The Ministry of Investment is currently moving forward with a set of new laws and amendments to develop the legal framework governing investment in Egypt, officials said in late June.

India: Banks Should Charge Less than 10% while Lending to Microfinance Institutions

info@symbiotics.ch — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 18:25:47 +0200

Vijay Mahajan, who in June took over as chairman of the Washington DC-based Consultative Group to Assist Poor (CGAP), wants banks in India to lend to microfinance institutions (MFIs) at sub-10% interest under the new base rate regime. Banks lend to MFIs at 11.5-14.5% interest, and these lenders charge rates as high as 30% for small loans to the poor.

Syria: Responsible Growth Key to Success of Microfinance

info@symbiotics.ch — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:50:28 +0200

Syria's microfinance industry will only succeed if it adopts sustainable growth practices that balance the interests of lending institutions with their clients, Sanabel Board Director Youssef Fawaz told a microfinance conference held in Damascus last month.

India: The Hidden Risks Behind Microfinance Securitization

info@symbiotics.ch — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 17:24:21 +0200

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently promulgated proposed guidelines for securitization by non-banking finance companies that if implemented, would essentially gut the widespread Indian MFI practice of selling (assigning) and securitizing portions of their portfolios.

India: Microfinance Network to Have Ombudsmen, Credit Bureau

info@symbiotics.ch — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 17:27:40 +0200

Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a self-regulatory organisation of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the country, has decided to institute offices of ombudsmen on the lines of banking ombudsmen to help in grievance redressal and launch a credit bureau later in the year.

Uzbekistan: Developing Microlending

info@symbiotics.ch — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:15:09 +0200

According to the Uzbek Agency for Financial Sector Development, three projects on further development of micro financing have been launched in 2010. They are being implemented by the Central Bank in cooperation with the UN Development Programme, German Technical Cooperation Center (GTZ), and the International Finance Corporation.

Unitus Dissolving Seattle Nonprofit, Laying Off Employees

info@symbiotics.ch — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:49:28 +0200

Microfinance nonprofit Unitus said this morning it is closing its Seattle headquarters and laying off more than 40 employees after almost 10 years of operation.

Switzerland: Meeting of Global Microfinance Experts in Bern

info@symbiotics.ch — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:26:37 +0200

Bern was the centre of the microfinance world from 28 June to 2 July 2010. The annual conference of the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF) at the Kursaal was attended by 200 specialists who exchanged views on achieving a sustainable financial market. SDC director Martin Dahinden and four leading microfinance experts held a media conference at which they summarised the outcome of the conference.

Akula shines light on India microlending in SKS IPO

info@symbiotics.ch — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 17:10:11 +0200

As a controversial $250-$350 million IPO draws nearer, Vikram Akula, founder of India's largest microlender, SKS Microfinance, crunches numbers. India's first microfinance institution (MFI) to tap the capital market has nearly 7 million clients, has disbursed close to $3 billion in total and claims a 99 percent repayment rate. But critics have jumped on another number altogether.

G20 Identifies Nine Principles for Innovative Financial Inclusion, Action Plan Expected in November

info@symbiotics.ch — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:07:09 +0200

The G20 Leadership Summit in Toronto this past weekend highlighted the importance of the work being done by the G20’s Financial Inclusion Experts Group (FIEG). The group released nine “Principles for Innovative Financial Inclusion” formed through the efforts of the Access through Innovation Sub-Group (ATISG).