Compartamos Banco, a Mexican microfinance bank founded in 1990, is in the process of finding a Latin American microfinance lender to acquire. Fernando Alvarez Toca, the Chief Executive Officer of Compartamos Banco, stated that his company is planning to acquire a Latin American company in accordance with their plan for rapid expansion. Alvarez Toca names Colombia, Peru and Brazil as the primary countries they are investigating [1]. Compartamos Banco has been pursuing this avenue since November of 2009 [2].
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroFinance Transparency Receives Ford Foundation Grant to Promote Transparency in Latin American Microfinance Industry
MicroFinance Transparency (MFTransparency), a US-based non-governmental organization that aims to disseminate accurate and comparable microfinance product cost information, has received a grant from the Ford Foundation to expand its work in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador.
MEET THE BOSS: Interview with Craig Churchill, Head of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO’s) Microinsurance Innovation Facility
Craig Churchill serves as the Chair of the Microinsurance Network and as Senior Technical Officer of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO’s) Social Finance Programme.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Awards $38m in Grants to Help Microfinance Institutions Expand Savings Initiatives for Poor
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded six grants worth a total of USD 38 million to help 18 microfinance institutions (MFIs) expand or launch savings initiatives.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fundación BBVA Microfinanzas, Microfinance Arm of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), to Begin Operating in Brazil and Mexico
Fundación BBVA Microfinanzas, the microfinance arm of the Spanish commercial bank, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), has announced that it “will begin operating in tandem with [unspecified] local partners in Brazil and Mexico in 2010” [1,2,3]. This comes soon after an announcement that BBVA Microfinanzas will “create a microfinance joint venture” with Credicoop, a Chilean cooperative bank [1,4]. BBVA Microfinanzas has already launched microfinance initiatives in Colombia, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Central America through an agreement with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (Cabei), “a multilateral bank and financial arm” founded by the nations of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica [1,3]. It also plans to begin a similar initiative in Argentina [1].
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: MicroInsurance Summit 2010: Evaluating Stategies for Delivery, Partner-Agent Models and Scalability, February 23-25, 2010, Le Meridien Piccadilly, London
Event Name: MicroInsurance Summit 2010: Evaluating Stategies for Delivery, Partner-Agent Models and Scalability
Event Date: February 23-25, 2010
Event Location: Le Meridien Piccadilly, London
Event Website: http://www.hansonwade.com/events/microinsurance-summit-2010/index.shtml
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here:
http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACCION Cleared to Invest in Brazil’s Microfinance Sector
ACCION International has reportedly received approval from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to operate in Brazil. The US-based nonprofit will be allowed to hold 99 percent of the Brazilian operations of its Gateway Fund, which holds shares in microfinance institutions in Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela.
KNOW A MICROFINANCE FUND: BlueOrchard Loans for Development 2007-1 (BOLD 2007-1)
Overview:
BlueOrchard Loans for Development 2007-1 (BOLD 2007-1) is a Collateralized Debt Obligation (CDO) that is collateralized with debt from microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Conclusions from the Global Forum on Remittances Co-Hosted by International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and African Development bank (AfDB)
The Global Forum on Remittances, co-hosted by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), recently concluded in Tunis on October 23, 2009. 200 participants involved in remittances attended the forum. The discussion was focused on issues related to workers living abroad who wished to send money back to their families in Africa [1].
PRESS RELEASE: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Announces Additional Social Performance Reporting Awardees
Source: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX).
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: IFC to Raise $300m in Bond Issue in Japan Market for Microfinance Programs
The International Finance Corp (IFC) will aim to raise USD 300 million through a bond issue targeted at Japanese investors to finance microfinance programs. This is the first time that the IFC will issue bonds with the intent to lend to microfinance institutions (MFIs). The bond listing and sale will be arranged by Daiwa Securities. The bond will be listed in Australian dollars and New Zealand dollars and will be restricted to Japanese retail and institutional investors. IFC has obtained ratings of Aaa/AAA (investment grade) from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s rating services respectively. It is expected that IFC will invest an amount at least equal to the bond proceeds in supporting microfinance activities. See bibliography sections [7]-[15] for Microcapital.org’s coverage of recent IFC investments. According to Nina Shapiro, IFC treasurer and vice president for finance, the IFC is considering bond issuances in other regions as well, specifically the European bond markets. IFC estimates that financing needed in the microfinance sector will reach USD 1.8 billion in 2010. [3][4]
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: MFX Solutions Closes First Currency Hedge Transaction; $4 million Currency Swap With MicroVest
MFX Solutions Inc., a company providing currency hedging solutions designed specifically for microfinance, closed its first hedging transaction, a USD 4 million currency swap with MicroVest I, LP. The cross-currency swap transaction allowed MicroVest I, a Washington DC-based microfinance investment fund, to make a USD 4 million, 3-year loan in Columbian pesos to Fundacion Mundo Mujer, a Columbian-based microfinance institution. [3]
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Remittance Duopoly: International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), African Development Bank (AfDB) and Inter-American Dialogue (IAD) Hold Global Forum on Remittances Calling for More Competition in African Remittance Market
The Global Forum on Remittances 2009, organized by the United Nations’ International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) in collaboration with the Inter-American Dialogue (IAD), is calling for the lifting of restrictions and costly fees imposed on the USD 40 billion sent as remittances to Africa each year [1]. The forum, a follow-up to similar forums held in 2005 and 2007, also addressed a proposal by G8 leaders in July 2009 to reduce costs of remittances by 50 percent over the next five years [2, 3].
MEET THE BOSS: Discussions on Successful Due Diligence When Evaluating Microfinance Investment Vehicles’ (MIV’s) Financial Viability: Interview with Christina Leijonhufvud, Managing Director, Social Sector Finance Group (SSF)/Investment Bank (IB) at JP Morgan (Part I of a Three Part Series)
Ms. Leijonhufvud is Managing Director of the Global Social Sector Finance Group at JPMorgan. The SSF unit leverages JP Morgan’s products and skills to help bring financial services to microfinance and social enterprises around the world. The scope includes capital markets, structured products and principal investments. The unit seeks to achieve a double bottom line of social benefit and financial returns. According to JP Morgan, potential demand for sustainable financial services is immense, at an estimated USD 300 billion. JPMorgan utilizes its global IB platform to raise capital to support poverty alleviation initiatives in developing economies.
MEET THE BOSS: Interview with Elissa McCarter, Director of the Office of Development Finance for NGO, CHF International (Part three of a three part series)
Founded in 1952, CHF International (CHF) has worked in over 100 countries and currently operates in more than 25 nations. CHF’s mission is to serve as a catalyst for long-lasting positive change in low- and moderate-income communities around the world, helping people improve their social, economic, and environmental conditions. One component of fulfilling that mission has been improving access to financial services. In the last five years, CHF International has disbursed over 200,000 loans totaling more than USD 482 million and has a particular niche in establishing microfinance programs in conflict, post-conflict, and post-disaster settings. CHF currently oversees lending operations in 11 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. As of June 2009, CHF International had assets under management of over USD 200 million (microfinance portfolio outstanding of USD 107.6 million plus middle market portfolio outstanding of USD 93.5 million).
Elissa McCarter, Director of the Office of Development Finance that oversees Microfinance, SME and Housing Finance Initiatives at CHF International (CHF)
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Opportunity International’s MicroEnsure of the United Kingdom to Launch Microinsurance Program for Climate Change and Crop Failure in India
MicroEnsure, an insurance intermediary established in 2005, stated that it plans to launch a microinsurance scheme next year for up to 600,000 farmers in India’s Kolhapur province. MicroEnsure is also a subsidiary of Opportunity International, a global non-profit microfinance network, which was formed in 1974, has assets totaling USD 736 million as of 2007 and lends to over 1 million people globally. The plan will insure farmers against their rice crops failing due to drought or heavy rains. Furthermore, the plan is to help farmers access larger loans to pay for seeds and equipment. According to the World Bank, India’s rural population account for about 72 percent of the India’s 1.1 billion people, and most of the rural poor rely on rain-fed agriculture.
WHO’S WHO IN MICROFINANCE: Catherine Quense, ACCION International’s Interim President and CEO
Catherine Quense, ACCION International’s Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Deputy, will take over as interim president and CEO, replacing Maria Otero, who has left to join the Obama Administration as Under Secretary of Global Affairs in the US State Department. Ms. Quense will direct ACCION in line with its 2008-2011 strategic plan and the key initiatives launched under Ms. Otero’s direction, “ACCION’s Model for Social Change” from its 2007 annual report. The four issues the plan addresses are “low income, poor quality of life, vulnerability and lack of dignified solutions,” through which the provision of financial services to low-income households will address. ACCION will broaden and reach beyond its target audience from informal-sector microentrepreneurs in urban Latin America for a greater global reach. The new areas include Inner Mongolia, China and Nigeria.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: World Vision’s CREDO Signs Up for PayBox System in Georgia
World Vision Georgia’s microfinance organization, CREDO, has begun employing a new product distributed by the company, PayBox, as a means of collecting loan repayments from its clients. CREDO, which started it’s micro-lending operations in 1997 under the name “Georgia Entrepreneur’s Fund”, was founded by World Vision International and, as of January 2005, it has been owned by VisionFund International, a US-based private company under World Vision International. CREDO reports to the Mix Market with total assets, as of 2008, at USD 29.9 million [1], a grade BBB rating [2] from Microfinanza in 2007 and 21,857 borrowers [3] at the end of 2008. CREDO’s use of this new payment system will allow clients across Georgia to perform various monetary transactions at no charge, in multiple locations.