by Ben Krupp -

MICROCAPITAL PAPER WRAP-UP: “Technical Guide: Performance and Social Indicators for Microfinance Institutions;” by Sebastian von Stauffenberg, Damian von Stauffenberg, Maritza Rodriguez, Rebecca Spradlin, Antonio Bryant; Published by MicroRate

“Technical Guide: Performance and Social Indicators for Microfinance Institutions;” by Sebastian von Stauffenberg, Damian von Stauffenberg, Maritza Rodriguez, Rebecca Spradlin and Antonio Bryant; Published by MicroRate; 2014; 64 pages; available at http://www.microrate.com/media/downloads/2014/05/MicroRate_-Technical-Guide-20142.pdf

Published by MicroRate, a US-based rating agency that evaluates risk and performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs), this guide provides an outline on how to assess the quality of an MFI.

by Meraj Husain -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “A Guide to Responsible Investing,” Published by MicroRate

“A Guide to Responsible Investing,” published by MicroRate, December 2013, 7 pages, available at http://www.microrate.com/a-guide-to-responsible-investing-a-microrate-white-paper

MicroRate, a US-based for-profit microfinance rating agency, has published a primer introducing the terminology and practices used by the “responsible” investing community.

by Brett Cohen -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroRate Launches Web-Based Impact Investing Platform Luminis

MicroRate, a US-based microfinance rating agency, with funding from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG), a non-profit fund certification agency based in Luxembourg, has launched the full version of Luminis, an online analytical platform on microfinance funds.

by Nisha Koul -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroRate Founder Damian von Stauffenberg is First to be Named to LuxFLAG Microfinance Label Eligibility Committee

The Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG), a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) and environment-related investment vehicle (EIV) certification organization, recently announced that Mr Damian von Stauffenberg, the founder of US-based microfinance rating agency MicroRate, has been named to the eligibility committee of LuxFLAG’s Microfinance Label [1].

by Ariana Malushi -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroRate, LuxFlag Launch Luminis Looking to Increase Transparency of Microfinance Funds

MicroRate, a US-based microfinance rating agency, with the financial support of the Luxembourg government and the nonprofit Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG), has launched the “beta” version of Luminis, a web-based platform focused on increasing the transparency of microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs).

by Nisha Koul -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroFinanza Rating, MicroRate, Planet Rating Sign Microfinance Rating Agency Code of Conduct, Sanjay Sinha of Micro-Credit Ratings International (M-CRIL) Criticizes Commercial Rating Agencies as “Too Liberal” with Microfinance Institutions

Three providers of institutional, performance and social ratings of microfinance institutions (MFIs), MicroFinanza Rating of Italy, US-based MicroRate and French Planet Rating, recently signed the Microfinance Rating Agency Code of Conduct.

by Carol Kim -

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.”

by Nisha Koul -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MICROFIS Obtains Approval as “Listing Sponsor” from NYSE Alternext Stock Exchange, Announces Partnership with Microfinance Rating Agency MicroRate

MICROFIS, a France-based market platform for investors in “responsible finance”, recently obtained accreditation as a “listing sponsor” from NYSE Alternext, a stock exchange operated by NYSE Euronext that connects investors with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) [1].

by Carol Kim -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroRate Latin America Approved as Microfinance Rating Agency in Peru, Celebrates 14th Anniversary

MicroRate Latin America, the Lima-based arm of the evaluator of microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently announced that it has been approved as a rating agency by Peru’s Superintendency of Banking, Insurance and Pension Fund Managers (SBS), which reportedly makes it the only regulated rating agency in Peru that specializes in microfinance.

by Conner Brannen -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroRate Releases 5th Annual Survey: “State of Microfinance Investment: The MicroRate 2010 Microfinance Investment Vehicle (MIV) Survey”

MicroRate, a microfinance rating agency, has released its fifth annual survey evaluating trends in microfinance investment – “State of Microfinance Investment: The MicroRate 2010 Microfinance Investment Vehicle (MIV) Survey.” The 2010 MIV survey indicates that investor interest in microfinance funds and similar intermediaries remains strong despite the global recession. However, strong interest from investors is being offset by weaker demand for funding from microfinance institutions (MFIs). In 2009, MIVs grew by 22 percent, but assets actually deployed to MFIs only grew 11 percent. This leaves MIVs with rapidly increasing levels of liquidity. By the end of last year, competition forced rates below the minimum level that some MIVs deem necessary in order to be compensated fully for the risk involved.

by Matthew Castner -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LuxFLAG and MicroRate Announce LUMINIS Microfinance, Internet-Based Microfinance Investment Vehicle Information Service

LuxFLAG (Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency), the Luxembourgian microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) certification organization, and MicroRate, the microfinance institution (MFI) rating agency with offices in the US, Peru and Morocco, signed an agreement on May 12, 2010, creating LUMINIS Microfinance, an MIV information service [1]. LUMINIS is intended to allow investors to make better-informed investment decisions based on a comprehensive database of MIV performance metrics.

by Zoran Stanisljevic -

MEET THE BOSS: Discussions on Developing a Global Credit Ratings Framework for Microfinance Institutions: Interview with Damian von Stauffenberg, Founder and Chairman of MicroRate

Damian von Stauffenberg is the founder of MicroRate, a rating agency specializing in microfinance.  Mr. von Stauffenberg founded MicroRate in 1997 and served as its CEO until 2009.  Through its Latin American and African subsidiaries, MicroRate has conducted over 400 ratings of microfinance institutions in Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe. 

Mr. von Stauffenberg previously worked for 25 years at the World Bank and its private sector affiliate, the International Finance Corporation (IFC).  He has been president of Seed Capital Development Fund (SCDF), chairman of the investment committee of ProFund, chairman of the executive committee of MicroVest and a member of the executive committee of the Latin American Challenge Investment Fund (LA-CIF).

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: MicroRate Publishes Public Ratings of Microfinance Institutions Conducted Between January and September 2008

Forprofit microfinance rating company MicroRate has announced the completion of the following public microfinance institution ratings between January 2008 and September 2008:

by Amy Rennison -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: A Leading Group of Microfinance Players, including Microrate, Global Partnerships, ACCION International, the Calvert Foundation and Calmeadow, Create The FX Consortium, A Foreign Exchange Risk Mitigation Service

The FX Consortium has been founded by a group of leading players in the US microfinance industry to provide a “Foreign Exchange Risk Mitigation Service”. Its aim is to help microfinance institutions (MFIs) that want to use complex financial processes, such as hedging, to manage their hard currency foreign debt obligations.

by the MicroCapital Team -

Pure Genius: Bob Patillo of Gray Ghost Microfinance Fund Announces Co-investment with Omidyar Network and Gates Foundation into Rating Agency MicroRate to Begin Rating Microfinance Investment Funds

Microfinance funds, which invest in retail microfinance institutions (MFI’s), are in dire need of an objective ratings system. The Silicon Valley Microfinance Network’s event brought welcome news of a project to apply a set of standard performance indicators to microfinance investment vehicles.

Continue reading “Pure Genius: Bob Patillo of Gray Ghost Microfinance Fund Announces Co-investment with Omidyar Network and Gates Foundation into Rating Agency MicroRate to Begin Rating Microfinance Investment Funds”

by Jacob O'Driscoll -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ZAMFI Blames Zimbabwe’s Liquidity Challenges for Microfinance Portfolio-at-risk (PAR) Ratio Surpassing 12%

The Zimbabwe Association of Microfinance Institutions (ZAMFI), a 100-member advocacy group, recently announced its members’ aggregate portfolio-at-risk (PAR) ratio rose from 8.3 percent in December 2016 to 12 percent in March 2017, citing both “corporates and individuals fail[ing] to honour their debt obligations due to the liquidity crisis.”

by Aliz Crowley -

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION WRAP-UP: “The Microfinance Sector in Morocco: Investment Opportunities After the Crisis;” Published by MicroFinanza Rating

“The Microfinance Sector in Morocco: Investment Opportunities After the Crisis,” published as part of the Insight series by MicroFinanza Rating, May 2014, 4 pages, available at http://www.microfinanzarating.com/images/Insight_Morocco_March_2014.pdf

Performed by Italy’s MicroFinanza Rating in May 2014, this “country screening” analyzes the political, economic and legal frameworks in which microfinance institutions (MFIs) function in Morocco.