Two funds controlled by Absolute Portfolio Management (APM), an arm of Austria-based asset group C-Quadrat, have distributed credits worth approximately USD 5 million to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Azerbaijan, El Salvador and Tajikistan.
Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Legislation Advances in Kazakhstan to Prohibit Anonymous Bank Accounts, Tighten Financial Monitoring of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
The Senate and Parliament of Kazakhstan reportedly have approved a law to expand government oversight of financial services and prohibit the use of anonymous bank accounts.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $4m to Mikrofin Banja Luka of Bosnia and Herzegovina for On-lending to 2,000 Micro-, Small Enterprises
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle, has disbursed a senior loan of EUR 3 million (USD 4.1 million) to microfinance institution Mikrofin Banja Luka of Bosnia and Herzegovina to increase the company’s lending capacity and expand loan services to approximately 2,000 micro- and small enterprises in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $6.8m to MF Banka a.d. Banja Luka of Bosnia and Herzegovina for On-lending to Micro-, Small Enterprises
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle, has disbursed a senior loan of EUR 5 million (USD 6.8 million) to MF Banka a.d. Banja Luka, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Islamic Social Finance, Transforming Client Complaints into Loyalty, Microinsurance Profitability
“Islamic Social Finance Report 2014,” by Thomson Reuters and the Islamic Research and Training Institute, published by Zawya, 2014, 64 pages, available at: http://www.zawya.com/islamic-finance/isfr/
This report examines opportunities and challenges for Islamic social finance in Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Singapore.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Considers Syndicating $25m Investment in Minsk Transit Bank (MTB) of Belarus for On-Lending to Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral financial institution, is considering investing USD 25 million in Belarusian commercial bank Minsk Transit Bank (MTB) for on-lending to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation, Microfinance Center of Poland Hire Cultural Consultant in Financial Literacy in Azerbaijan
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced a partnership with the Microfinance Center (MFC) for Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States, a 110-member network based in Poland, to attempt to improve financial literacy in Azerbaijan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sweden, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Facilitate Energy-Efficiency Advice for 100 Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Moldova
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral financial institution, is helping 100 Moldovan small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) receive advice on energy efficiency practices from local consultants in a program funded by the government of Sweden.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Russian Payday Lender Bistrodengi Selects Diasoft’s Flextera Banking Software
Bistrodengi, a Russian payday lender that offers payday loans of RUB 1,000 to RUB 16,000 (USD 28 to USD 453) for periods of seven to 16 days, recently selected Flextera Loans, a core banking solution from Diasoft, to support its lending and accounting operations. Diasoft’s software is used by approximately 340 financial institutions worldwide. The company is headquartered in Russia, and it also has offices in China, Cyprus, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Considers $277m Investment for Financial Institutions in Western Balkans
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral financial institution, is considering investing an additional EUR 200 million (USD 277 million) through its Western Balkans Financing Framework, an initiative that funds development projects through intermediary financial institutions in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Postal Service Azerpoçt to Provide Microcredit in Azerbaijan
Azerpoçt, Azerbaijan’s government-backed postal service provider, reportedly intends to apply for a license to provide microcredit services from the Central Bank of Azerbaijan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to Loan $69m to UniCredit Bank Serbia
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, recently announced that it is considering loaning EUR 50 million (USD 69 million) to UniCredit Bank Serbia, a subsidiary of Italy-based financial services company UniCredit Group.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mutual-Aid Credit Cooperative for Private Farmers of Bulgaria Among Finalists for $69k 6th Giordano Dell’Amore Microfinance Good Practices Europe Awards
Fondazione Giordano Dell’Amore, an Italian foundation that supports microfinance, in partnership with the European Microfinance Network (EMN), a Belgium-based nonprofit organization, recently announced three finalists for the Sixth Annual Giordano Dell’Amore Microfinance Good Practices Europe Award, a series that recognizes initiatives that promote financial inclusion as a tool for development.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD, EFSE to Loan $16m to FINCA Azerbaijan to Support Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), Agricultural Lending
Through two unrelated transactions, the Azerbaijan-based subsidiary of the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), a US-based microfinance network, received local-currency loans totaling USD 16 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral development bank, and the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a government-backed microfinance investment vehicle based in Luxembourg.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Raiffeisen Bank Arranges $60m Loan to Microfinance Institution Access Bank of Azerbaijan
Raiffeisen Bank International, an Austria-based parent organization of financial service providers in 15 countries, has arranged a syndicated loan of USD 60 million with participation from 16 banks to AccessBank, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Azerbaijan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Association of Professional Risk Managers in Bosnia and Herzegovina Gains Momentum
The Development Facility of the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a technical assistance facility of the Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) EFSE, has provided an undisclosed amount of funding to the Association of Professional Risk Managers in Bosnia and Herzegovina (APRMIBIH).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to Loan $6.9m to Elana Agrocredit of Bulgaria to Expand Land Lease Financing
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral development bank, recently announced that it will extend a loan of EUR 5 million (USD 6.9 million) to Elana Agrocredit, a Bulgaria-based financial institution that provides lease financing to agricultural producers for farmland purchases.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Loans $8.3m to Tutunska Banka of Macedonia for Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), Energy Efficiency
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral financial institution, has approved a loan of EUR 6 million (USD 8.3 million) to be disbursed to Macedonian commercial bank Tutunska Banka for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).