Since the Indian government released a draft microfinance bill in July 2011, commercial banks and private equity investors reportedly have expressed a new willingness to consider investing in microfinance institutions (MFIs).
Search Results for: Microfinance Institutions Bill India
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: New Criteria Announced for Social Performance Reporting Awards from CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, Ford Foundation, Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX)
The Social Performance Reporting Awards, instituted in 2009 to recognize microfinance institutions (MFIs) committed to “transparent social performance monitoring and management,” recently announced that this year, in addition to promoting MFIs on the basis on transparency, the award will also recognize “good practices in social performance management” [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India-based Joint Venture Universal Sompo General Insurance Announces Forthcoming Microinsurance Products
Universal Sompo General Insurance Company Limited (USGI), an India-based joint venture of Japanese insurance company Sompo Japan Insurance and a group of unidentified Indian companies, recently announced that two new microinsurance products, Saral Suraksha Bima and Sampoorna Suraksha, were submitted to regulatory authorities for approval.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution Satin Creditcare Reports $22m in Capital Raises, Securitizations; Upgraded by CARE Ratings to “MFI 2”
Satin Creditcare Network Limited (Satin), a microfinance institution (MFI) headquartered in Delhi, recently announced that it received an upgraded credit rating from India-based CARE Ratings following a fundraising streak totaling INR 1 billion (USD 22.3 million).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (BSFL) Raises $150m from Institutional Investors, Commercial Banks
Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (BSFL), an Indian microfinance institution (MFI) and member of the BASIX Group of companies, has reportedly raised INR 7 billion (USD 150 million) in debt and equity commitments from institutional investors and commercial banks, in what has been described as a “lifeline” by BASIX chairman Vijay Mahajan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United Bank of India to Loan $22m to Microfinance Institution Bandhan Financial Services Amid “Opening Up of Bank Credit”
The government-owned United Bank of India (UBI), recently sanctioned a loan of INR 100 crore (USD 22.5 million) to Bandhan Financial Services, a microfinance institution (MFI) in India [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution SKS Reports Quarterly Loss, Looks to Raise $200m Through Private Placements
SKS Microfinance, a publicly-listed Indian microfinance institution (MFI), recently reported a net loss of INR 2.18 billion (USD 48.1 million) for the quarter ending June 30, compared to a net profit of INR 669 million (USD 14.3 million) in the same period last year.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Announces 2,000 Microfinance Institutions Now Reporting to MIX Market
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), a US-based nonprofit organization that runs the MIX Market online database of microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently announced that it currently collects self-reported information from 2,000 MFIs based in 110 countries, representing 92 million borrowers.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Foreign Capital Investment in Microfinance: Reassessing Financial and Social Returns; By Xavier Reille, Sarah Forster and Daniel Rozas; Published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor)
By Xavier Reille, Sarah Forster and Daniel Rozas; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); 2011; 16 pages; available at http://www.cgap.org/gm/document-1.9.50967/FN71.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Habitat for Humanity Receives $45m Loan from Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), to Be On-Lent to Microfinance Institutions Through Housing Finance Programs
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a US government agency that supports private sector development, has approved a USD 45 million loan to Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), a nonprofit, US-based Christian organization that builds homes for poor people, to promote and expand housing microfinance lending.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC), Microsave Publish Deposit Assessment Reports for Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently commissioned “The South Asia Deposit Assessment” studies.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions in India Continue to Struggle for Funding After Loan Recast, Adoption of Malegam Proposals
Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India reportedly continue to struggle after recasting of a significant portion of their wholesale debt and the adoption by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central banking authority, of many of the Malegam Committee’s proposals on regulating the sector.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BlueOrchard Loans $1.1m in Local Currency to Cameroonian Microfinance Institution (MFI) Advans Cameroun
BlueOrchard Finance SA, a subsidiary of Switzerland-based BlueOrchard Microfinance Investment Managers, has announced that it will provide a local-currency loan of XAF 500 million (USD 1.1 million) to Advans Cameroun, a microfinance institution (MFI) operating in Cameroon.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFMR Trust, Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG) Join Government of India’s Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) Health Microinsurance Program
IFMR Trust, an Indian nonprofit organization that promotes access to finance, and Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG) International Private Limited, an Indian company that operates educational and healthcare institutions, have recently been accepted into the government of India’s health insurance program targeting families below the poverty line (BPL), known as Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution (MFI) Janalakshmi Raises $14m in Equity Led by Citi Venture Capital International (CVCI)
Janalakshmi Financial Services (JFS), an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), has raised INR 65 crores (USD 14 million) through a third round of equity capital fundraising. Citi Venture Capital International, a US-based private equity investor affiliated with Citigroup, has taken a “significant minority stake” in JFS that reportedly represents its first investment in India since 2008.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Spurned by Commercial Banks, Indian Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Raise Funds from Social Investors IFC, ACCION, MicroVest, ShoreCap, Aavishkaar, BlueOrchard
Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs), which have seen new lending from commercial banks dry up since the “Andhra Pradesh crisis” broke in late 2010, instead have been accessing funds from social and philanthropic investors including: International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group; ACCION International, a US-based nonprofit organization; MicroVest Capital Management, a US-based family of microfinance investment funds; Shore Capital, a UK-based investment banking company; Aavishkaar Goodwell India Microfinance Development Company Limited, an India-based financing company; and BlueOrchard Microfinance Investment Managers, a Swiss manager of microfinance funds.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Wholesale Lenders Agree to Restructure $1b in Debt for Indian Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Spandana Sphoorty, Asmitha, Future, Share, Trident
Following two months of negotiations, unnamed wholesale commercial lenders have agreed to restructure debt worth INR 5,000 crores (USD 1 billion) for five Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs): Spandana Sphoorty Financial Limited, Asmitha Microfin Limited, Future Financial Services Limited, Share Microfin Limited and Trident Microfin Private Limited.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SKS Microfinance Reconsidering Business Strategy to Rebuild Reputation
SKS Microfinance, a microfinance institution (MFI) that serves groups of impoverished women in India, is reportedly considering new business growth avenues in an attempt to increase revenue and improve its reputation. Along with collateral-free loans, four new products would be offered: loans using gold as collateral, housing loans, loans to buy mobile phones and loans to local grocery stores in a supply arrangement with the cash-and-carry chain, Metro. “The pilot projects have been yielding very encouraging results,” says Vikram Akula, chairperson and founder of SKS Microfinance.