Vishwavir Ahuja, the former CEO of the Indian division of Bank of America, has joined the board of Ratnakar Bank, a community bank based in rural Kolhapur, as an independent director. According to Mr Ahuja, he hopes to transform the “relatively-unknown rural bank into a major player with a focus on inclusive growth.” Some have speculated that Mr Ahuja’s position on the board will lead to a greater influx of funding through unspecified “connections” with investors at Mumbai-based Centrum, a financial services firm established in 1977.
Search Results for: "SKS Microfinance"
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Capital India Appoints Sanjay Nayar as New Director
Sanjay Nayar, the CEO of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) – a global alternative assets manager – has been named to the board of directors of Grameen Capital India, a Mumbai-based social business that promotes growth in the microfinance sector in India. Prior to joining KKR, Mr Nayar was the CEO of Citigroup India and South Asia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Current and Former CEOs of ACCION International Discuss Role of Microfinance and Capital Markets in Fighting Poverty
In response to the upcoming IPO (initial public offering) of SKS Microfinance, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI) with more than 3.5 million borrowers, Mr Michael Schlein, President and CEO of ACCION International, and Mr Michael Chu, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and former CEO of ACCION, discuss the role of microfinance and the capital markets in fighting poverty in a Forbes magazine article.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mohammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank, Calls Out Loan Shark Organizations
In an interview with Vikash Humar, Editor in Chief of Microfinance Focus, Mohammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, blasted profit-seeking microfinance institutions (MFIs). He likened these institutions, which he defined as those who charge more than 15 percent plus the cost of funds, to the loan sharks that necessitated the foundation Grameen. While reluctant to name names, Mr Yunus offered Compartamos Banco, a Mexican microfinance bank founded in 1990, as an example of one of these firms. Mr Yunus additionally spoke out against IPOs by MFIs, such as Compartamos Banco and SKS Microfinance, a microfinance institution (MFI), launched in 1998, which caters to women clients in India.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Elevar Equity, a Bangalore-based Private Equity Fund, Raises $70m for Microfinance-focused Fund for Investments in India, Mexico, the Philippines and Peru
Elevar Equity Advisors Private Limited (Elevar), a Bangalore-based private equity fund, has raised a USD 70 million fund that will invest in microfinance and other services in India, Mexico, the Philippines and Peru.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sequoia Capital Purchases 10% Equity Stake in Equitas, a Microfinance Institution (MFI) Based in India, From Kalpathi Investments for Over 12 Times the Original Price
Sequoia Capital, a venture capital fund that commits a portion of its portfolio on microfinance, has purchased a 10 percent stake in Equitas, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in India [1,2,3].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) Gain Popularity as New Source of Fundraising for Indian Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
A recent article published by the Microfinance Focus website commented on the growing tendency of Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs) to raise funds via non-convertible debentures (NCDs).
KNOW A MICROFINANCE FUND: Sequoia Capital
Overview:
The Sequoia Capital is a venture capital fund that allocates part of its portfolio to microfinance investments.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institutions Wary of Housing Lending
Livemint.com, an affiliate of The Wall Street Journal, reports that only two microfinance institutions of seven surveyed have forayed into housing finance. Default worries are holding back the others, who generally loan to groups, not individuals. A senior official at SKS Microfinance Ltd, who did not wish to be identified, was quoted as saying, “It’s a different and a difficult ball game. We do not know yet how to price it…defaults would be high.” On a pilot basis, Madura Micro Finance Limited is offering 100 customers up to the equivalent of USD 2200 for the purchase or construction of a house. Whereas self-help group loans are priced at up to 21 percent interest, the housing loans are set at 18 percent to attract customers.
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Indian Microfinance Sector Sees Increase in Private Equity Investments from $61m to $143m
The Financial Express, a web-based Indian financial news source, said that from January to October of 2009, the Indian microfinance sector has seen a significant growth in private equity (PE) investments. In that time period, eleven PE deals worth USD 143 million were carried out, compared to eight deals worth USD 61 million in the previous year. According to the article, the Indian microfinance sector’s compound annual growth rate (CAGR) has reached 105% [1].
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Australian Bank ANZ Amasses 10 million Fijian Dollars (USD 5.3 million) in Deposits through Mobile Rural Banking Program in Fiji Launched in 2004 in Conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme
ANZ, an Australian commercial bank, launched a mobile rural banking scheme in 2004 in an effort to offer financial services to new clients in a different nation, Fiji [1,2]. The program was launched in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nation’s “global development network,” with the intention of providing credit to low-income Fijian households [1,3]. Since the program’s inception, ANZ has amassed 10 million Fijian Dollars in deposits from Fijian clients, the equivalent of over USD 5.3 million [1]. Microcapital reported on this rural banking scheme in July of 2009 [4]. Microcapital has also reported extensively on mobile banking [5,6,7].
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Trade Association Boss Claims China’s Regulations Impede Growth and Calls for Wholesale Microfinance Fund
A recent article by Ms. Wang Xinyuan in the Global Times, a daily Chinese newspaper, commented that despite a growing demand for microfinance in China, government regulations are inhibiting microfinance institutions´ (MFIs) growth [1]. Government regulations state that MFIs are not allowed to accept deposits to finance micro-loans. Additionally, interest rates for MFIs are capped at four times the prime lending rate, which currently stands at 5.31 percent [2].
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Communications Company Telenor Pakistan Launch Mobile Banking Service with Tameer Microfinance Bank
Telenor Pakistan, a subsidiary of the Norwegian mobile communications company, Telenor, and Tameer Microfinance Bank, a microfinance bank that is partially owned by Telenor, have launched a mobile banking service called “easypaisa” [1,2,3,4]. With the service, customers will be able to manage their accounts via their mobile phone, as well as send and receive money and pay bills from various outlets [1].
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: The Smart Campaign Industry Leaders Call For Key Consumer Protection Initiatives
On October 20, 2009, Vikram Akula of SKS Microfinance in India, Elizabeth Littlefield of CGAP at The World Bank and Kurt Koenigsfest of BancoSol in Bolivia spoke during a panel discussion on how to instill consumer protection principles within the microfinance industry. Elisabeth Rhyne, managing director of the Center for Financial Inclusion at ACCION International, made introductory remarks and Robin Ratcliffe, Director of the SMART Campaign, moderated the discussion.[1]
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Braking Securitizations – India’s Economic Times Reports That The Reserve Bank of India Proposes To Ask Originating Banks To Hold Loans On Their Balance Sheets For 6 Months To Stem ‘Reckless Securitizations’ And Suggests That Holding Periods Should Be Tailored For Banks Originating Microfinance Loans
A recent article in India’s Economic Times entitled ‘The Reserve Bank of India may ask banks to hold securitised debt for six months’ [1] by Gaurav Pai noted that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) [2] may ask Indian banks to retain originated debt on their loan books for six to seven months before selling or securitising those loans to other market players. A securitisation is a financing technique under which loans originated by a bank are sold to another market participant, usually a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for an agreed price. The SPV funds the purchase of the portfolio of loans from the originating bank by issuing debt instruments to investors. These debt instruments are often known as ‘asset backed securities’ as they are typically backed or collateralised by the portfolio of loans.
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Continuing Challenges To Expanding Microfinance In India – Criminal Activity And Danger Impede Microfinance Activities In India’s Naxal-Dominated Areas And Remote Tribal Groups In The Non-Cash Communities Of Jharkhand And Chhattisgarh Find Microcredit Unfamiliar
A recent report by Deepti Chaudhury on the Live Mint online financial news portal entitled ‘Crime, inaccessibility impede spread of microfinance activity’ [1] discusses the challenges faced by some MFIs that operate in certain regions in India including Bangalore, Uttar Pradesh and the remote areas in Jammu and Kashmir. The report talks about an interview with a potential microfinance client in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich town. The potential client has been unable to secure access to microcredit facilities despite being young and having the means to repay simply because he lives in an area where ‘even the MFIs don’t want to go because widespread poverty has made forming self-help groups difficult’. In addition, most people in the area work in a livelihood or sector that cannot be expanded.
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Finance Minister of Bangladesh Says Climate Change is Major Factor Impeding Economic Growth for Low-Income Citizens
At a conference on extreme poverty in Bangladesh, the Finance Minister of Bangladesh, Mr. Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, announced that “global climate change poses the greatest challenge today in our poverty mitigation efforts.” He added that microcredit is not the prime tool for poverty alleviation, but that it can “very well be an aid to mitigating poverty” [1, 2].
NEWS WIRE: India: Credit Bureau for Microfinance Institutions Taking Shape
Source: DNA.