by Jocelyn Cheng -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: HSBC Turkey Allocates USD 5 million to Microfinance Loans in Turkey

HSBC Turkey, the Turkish arm of the global bank HSBC, announced the allocation of USD 5 million toward microcredit loans until 2010 in Turkey. According to Piraye Antika, the CEO of HSBC Turkey, the microcredit loans will be evenly split between urban areas, rural areas and young university-graduate entrepreneurs. In disbursing the loans, HSBC will work with three non-government organizations: the Turkish Waste Prevention Foundation, the Community Volunteers, and the Female Labor Assessment Foundation.

by Jocelyn Cheng -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Following Strategic Review, the Gates Foundation to Focus on Microsavings Within Microfinance Initiative

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a charitable organization that was created in 2000 with an endowment of USD 35.9 billion, plans to direct hundreds of millions of dollars to promoting savings programs designed for the poor over the coming years, reports the Wall Street Journal.  Following a review of its existing microfinance grants and a broader study of its financial services strategy, the Gates Foundation decided to focus its efforts on promoting savings in the developing world.

by Ipek Kuran -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: HSBC Ammanah partners with Islamic Relief to Launch Microfinance Program in Pakistan

HSBC Amanah, the global Islamic banking division of HSBC group, has partnered with Islamic Relief, an international development and relief organization, to offer Islamic Microfinance in Pakistan. Islamic microfinance, just like Islamic banking, will provide financial services to devout Muslims in accordance with the Shariah, the Islamic law. HSBC Amanah will provide both training and funding for Islamic Relief’s microfinance projects, starting in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

by Sarah Knapp -

MICROCAPTIAL STORY: Inter-American Development Bank’s Awards for Microenterprise Development Will be presented at the Inter-American Forum on Microenterprise (FOROMIC) in Paraguay to Recognize Advances in Microfinance

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) recently announced that the Awards for Microenterprise Development will be presented at the IDB’s 11th Inter-American Forum on Microenterprise (FOROMIC) in Asuncion Paraguay, in October 2008. It will be organized by the government of Paraguay as well as by the IDB’s Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), which promotes inclusive private sector growth through grants and investments.

by Sarah Knapp -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) Invest $9.8m in Rio Bravo Group’s Unik S.A. for $148m Microfinance Fund

Two multilateral financial institutions, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), have recently invested in Unik, a Brazilian issuer of payroll cards and a financial intermediary between Brazil’s lower-income population and financial services. The IFC will obtain a 12 percent equity stake in Unik, while the IIC will gain 8 percent participation through ownership in Unik’s stock.

by Melissa Duscha -

PAPER WRAP-UP: Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, Focus Note: The Early Experience with Branchless Banking (On the Potential of Branchless Banking in the Microfinance Sector)

This article is based on research conducted on branchless banking projects in 18 countries worldwide during 2007. Written by Gautam Ivantury and Ignacio Mas of the Technology Program at the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), this 16-page document was released in April, 2008 by CGAP and is available here. 

Branchless banking is defined as bank services that use technology such as payment cards or mobile phones to identify customers and record transactions, the use of third-party outlets as agents for financial services providers, offer minimum of basic cash deposit and withdrawal and transaction or payment services, have the backing of a government-recognized deposit-taking institutions, and are available to be used during normal business hours without needing to go to bank branches.

by Jennifer Lee -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: ING Review of American International Group (AIG) and Its Partnerships with ACCION, FINCA, MicroCred, Pro Mujer, and Pak-Oman Microfinance Bank

The Dutch Bank ING published its updated 2008 study on commercial bank microfinance activity, called “A Billion to Gain? The Next Phase”. A MicroCapital review of the paper can be read here. MicroCapital is reviewing the microfinance activities of several of large international banks covered in the study, such as American International Group (AIG).

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: At Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Annual Meeting, Multilateral Investment Fund Manager Donald Terry Predicts Microfinance Lending in Latin America Will Hit $20b by 2012

On Friday, April 4, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) opened its five-day annual meeting in Miami. Reuters reported on Saturday, April 5, that Donald Terry, the IADB’s Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) manager, predicted that microfinance loans in Latin America may hit USD 20 billion by 2012, as compared to USD 8.6 billion last year. He was quoted as saying that as interest rates fall over time, “you’ll find millions of new borrowers in markets like Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.”