The National Housing Bank (NHB), the Indian governmental agency that oversees housing finance, reportedly has granted Muthoot Finance, an Indian non-banking finance company (NBFC) that lends using gold items as collateral, approval to begin providing housing finance services.
Search Results for: Microfinance Institutions Bill India
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Suryoday Micro Finance of India Raises $4.5m in Equity from International Finance Corporation (IFC), Aavishkaar Goodwell, Lok Capital
Suryoday Micro Finance Private Limited, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), recently received an equity infusion totalling INR 270 million (USD 4.5 million) from three investors: INR 150 million (USD 2.5 million) from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, and INR 62 million (USD 1 million) each from Aavishkaar Goodwell, a for-profit Indian-Dutch joint venture promoting economic development, and Lok Capital, a Mauritius-based venture fund focused on microfinance and other social businesses in India [1] [2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFMR Capital of India Launches Collateral Bond Obligation (CBO) Backed by $16m in Non-convertible Debentures (NCDs) Issued by Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
IFMR Capital, a Chennai-based financial institution that facilitates funding for organizations that serve low-income individuals in India, has launched a collateralized bond obligation (CBO), which it deems the country’s first.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Allows Non-banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) to Work as Agents for Banks
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), a government agency charged with overseeing the Indian financial sector, has revised its regulations to permit non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) that do not accept deposits to act as business correspondents for Indian banks, providing limited financial services to clients in unbanked areas.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US-based Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Appoints Jeffrey Binstock as CEO
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), a US-based nonprofit that provides performance data and analysis on microfinance institutions (MFIs) and their funders, networks and service providers, recently announced the appointment of Mr Jeffrey Binstock as the organization’s new CEO.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India Simplifies “Know Your Customer” Requirement for Establishing Bank Accounts
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s central banking authority, has announced that it has simplified the “Know Your Customer” (KYC) process that it requires commercial banks in India to undertake before opening bank accounts for individuals.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFMR of India Receives Approval to Launch “FImpact Investment Fund”
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has approved the launch of the “IFMR FImpact Investment Fund” (IFMR FImpact), a social-venture scheme managed by IFMR Investment Managers Private Limited (IFMR Investments), the asset management arm of the Chennai-based, nonprofit IFMR Trust Group.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Elevar Equity, Omidyar Network, Saama Capital, WestBridge Capital Invest $27m in Equity in India’s Vistaar Finance for Lending to Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)
Elevar Equity, which invests in “disconnected communities” from offices in India and the US; Omidyar Network, a US-based investor in “socially responsible” organizations; Saama Capital, an India-focused venture capital fund registered in Mauritius; and WestBridge Capital, an India-based investment company with offices in India, Mauritius and the United States, reportedly have collectively invested INR 1.6 billion (USD 27 million) in Bangalore-based non-banking finance company Vistaar Finance (Vistaar).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SKS Trust Advisors Sells 7.6% of SKS Microfinance, Decreasing Stake to 4.8%
SKS Trust Advisors Private Limited, the India-based trustee of five mutual benefit trusts benefiting groups who borrow from SKS Microfinance Limited, reportedly has sold a 7.6-percent stake in SKS Microfinance, a for-profit Indian microfinance institution (MFI), to an unspecified buyer.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lok Capital, Creation Investments Invest Total of $13m in Indian Microfinance Institution Equitas Holdings
Two institutional investors, Lok Capital LLC (Lok Capital), a Mauritius-based investment vehicle, and Creation Investments Capital Management Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) (Creation Investments), a US-based alternative investment management company, reportedly have invested a cumulative sum of INR 800 million (USD 13.7 million) in Equitas Holdings Private Limited (Equitas), a Chennai-based microfinance institution (MFI).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Gives 2-Year Extension to Share, Asmitha, Spandana Sphoorty to Meet Capital Requirements
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given three microfinance institutions (MFIs) a two-year extension to meet the requirements to qualify as non-banking financial company (NBFC) MFIs.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Introduces FINclusion Lab, Offering Country-Specific Financial Inclusion Data Visualization and Analysis
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), a US-based nonprofit, recently announced the launch of FINclusion Lab, a platform that provides interactive visual interpretation and analysis of country-specific data pertaining to financial services activities in Africa, Asia and Latin America [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bandhan Financial Services of India Reduces Lending Rate to 22.4% per Year
Bandhan Financial Services, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in the Indian city of Kolkata, reportedly announced that it has reduced its lending rate by 50 basis points, or 0.5 percent, bringing its annual interest rate down to 22.4 percent.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to Allow Minors Over Age 10 to Open Savings Accounts
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), a government agency charged with overseeing the Indian financial sector, reportedly has decided to allow minors over 10 years of age to open savings accounts at banks without the supervision of a guardian.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: State Bank of India Names Reliance Money Infrastructure a Business Correspondent
The State Bank of India (SBI), an Indian state-owned financial services company, reportedly has finalized an agreement with Mumbai-based Reliance Money Infrastructure Limited (RMIL), a service provider to banks, under which RMIL will take on some of SBI’s transactions as a business correspondent[1].
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Responsible Equity Exits in Microfinance; Greenfield Microfinance Models in Africa; Mobile Financial Services Usage Among Rural Women in India, Philippines
“The Art of the Responsible Exit in Microfinance Equity Sales;” by Daniel Rozas, Deborah Drake, Estelle Lahaye, Katharine McKee and Danielle Piskadlo; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); April 2014; 32 pages; available at http://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/Forum-Art-of-the-Responsible-Exit-April-2014.pdf
This paper explores how microfinance investment intermediaries (MIIs) and development finance institutions (DFIs) can exit responsibly from microfinance institutions (MFIs) in which they have invested equity as well as how investors can contribute to healthy development of the overall market. The authors conducted six case studies and interviewed representatives from MIIs, nongovernmental organizations, DFIs, MFIs and merger-and-acquisition specialists.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Yes Bank’s Sampann, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Bank Use “Doorstep” Banking in Rural India
Two private commercial banks based in the Indian city of Mumbai, Yes Bank and the Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Bank, reportedly have started using “doorstep” banking in rural India to reach more customers by offering services such as credit, savings and insurance at customers’ homes.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Mobile Money Agents in Uganda; Sustainable Microfinance; Mobile Money for the Global Unbanked
“Agent Network Accelerator Survey: Uganda Country Report 2013;” published by Helix Institute of Digital Finance; January 2014; 26 pages; available at http://www.helix-institute.com/data-and-insights/agent-network-accelerator-survey-%E2%80%93-uganda-country-report-2013-0
This document presents the results of a study conducted by the US-based nonprofit Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and India-based for-profit consultancy MicroSave that seeks to identify the challenges, trends and successes of the mobile money market in Uganda by surveying 2,000 agents.