“The International Bank of Bob;” by Bob Harris; published by the Walker Publishing Company, Inc.; March 2013; 400 pages, http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-international-bank-of-bob-9781620405222/
This book stems from the moment that US-based author Bob Harris met a group of South Asian day laborers while on assignment for ForbesTraveler.com in Dubai.
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) backed by multiple governments, has loaned EUR 20 million (USD 27.6 million) to Komercijalna banka Beograd, a bank based in Serbia, and EUR 2.5 million (USD 3.4 million) loan to Patria Credit, a non-banking microfinance institution (MFI) in Romania that seeks to provide increased financial access to micro- and small enterprises [1].
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a multilateral institution that finances development projects, has initiated a financial education project in Moldova that is aimed at providing recipients of remittances with improved financial skills to manage the money they receive as well as to encourage them to open bank accounts [1].
Sekerbank, a Turkish private bank, has borrowed EUR 59.5 million (USD 82 million) from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution; EUR 36.3 million (USD 50 million) from the International Finance Corporation, a member of the US-based World Bank Group; and EUR 10 million (USD 13.7 million) from the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based, EU-backed microfinance investment vehicle [1] [2].
Event Name: Third Annual Central Asian Microfinance Forum
Event Date: November 7 – November 8, 2013
Event Location: Almaty, Kazakhstan
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based, EU-backed microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), recently agreed to grant a senior loan facility of USD 20 million to Bank Republic, a Georgian member of the France-based financial group Société Générale [1].
The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based investor in microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other social businesses, recently informed MicroCapital that it has made a loan of EUR 792,000 (USD 1,068,000) to Viator, an Azerbaijani MFI.
Absolute Portfolio Management (APM), an Austria-based asset management company that offers investment and advisory services to microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently issued approximately USD 12.5 million in credit to unspecified MFIs in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Tajikistan.
The Africa Microfinance Network (AFMIN), a Benin-based association of 1,100 African microfinance institutions (MFIs) serving 20 million clients, recently partnered with Moody’s Analytics, a US-based financial risk management company that provides risk management, credit analysis, research and training tools for financial institutions, to deliver Social Performance Assessments (SPAs) in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Citigroup (Citi), a US-based financial services corporation, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a development finance institution of the US government, reportedly have partnered to deliver USD 200 million to Citi’s local and multinational corporate and financial institution clients [1].
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral institution that finances development projects, recently provided a local-currency loan equivalent to USD 1.5 million to First MicroCredit Company (FMCC), a Kyrgyz microfinance institution, to support on-lending to its micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) customers, especially those in the agricultural sector.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, is considering financing a senior loan of RUB 750 million (USD 23.5 million) to Transcapitalbank (TCB), a Russia-based banking institution, for on-lending for residential energy-efficiency projects.
Appui au Développement Autonome (ADA), a nonprofit organization based in Luxembourg that supports microfinance institutions with product development, capacity building and information dissemination, has appointed Arnaud Servais to serve as its executive director.
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently opened a local-currency credit line equivalent to USD 2 million for the Bank of Asia Closed Joint Stock Company (CJSC), a public bank based in the Kyrgyz Republic, to support the bank’s micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) clients.
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based, EU-backed microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), recently agreed to loan EUR 5 million (USD 6.65 million) to Inecobank, an Armenia-based microfinance bank.
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based, government-backed microfinance investor that aims to foster regional development in southeastern Europe and parts of central Asia, recently announced that it has provided a loan of EUR 1 million (USD 1.3 million) to Microinvest, a microfinance institution (MFI) founded by the Soros Foundation in Moldova, to support micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) [1].
Moody’s Analytics, a unit of US-based Moody’s Corporation that aims to help capital markets and credit risk professionals respond to market changes, and the Microfinance Centre (MFC), a Poland-based microfinance resource center, recently partnered to launch Moody’s Analytics Social Performance Assessment (SPA), a tool that analyzes the performance of microfinance institutions and operations, in Europe and Central Asia.
Almazbek Atambayev, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, reportedly has signed a law entitled “On Restriction of Usurious Activities in the Kyrgyz Republic” that establishes an interest rate cap on microloans.