by Laura Anderson -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Invests USD 4 million into Kyrgyz Microfinance Institution Bai Tushum

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, announced that it is investing USD 4 million into Kyrgyz microfinance institution Bai Tushum.  The investment will help the company provide loans to about 10,000 microenterprises, private entrepreneurs, and farmers in remote areas of Kyrgyzstan.  The Kyrgyz Republic joined the IFC in 1993 and the IFC has since committed almost USD 75 million to the country, including USD 5 million in advisory services focused on microfinance, housing finance, corporate governance, and business environment. 

by Jaclyn Berfond -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Microfinance Lessons for a Macrofinance Mess

As world leaders met in London to discuss the global financial crisis, one of the items on the agenda was how the major economies and international institutions could mitigate the impact of the crisis on the world’s poorest counties. Several measures were proposed to reaffirm the G-20’s commitment to the most vulnerable. Yet, a recent Christian Science Monitor article argues that global financial players should instead be listening to what the poor have to say about financial institutions and take some lessons from the microfinance sector.

by Diana Yang -

PRESS RELEASE: AccessBank’s Portfolio sets new records

Source: AccessBank.

Baku, 23 February 2009 – AccessBank continues to set new records in its business lending. Today the business loan portfolio crossed the USD 200 million and 50,000 client thresholds. Almost simultaneously the Micro loan portfolio exceeded USD 100 million demonstrating the bank’s commitment to its corporate mission of providing access to financial services for micro and small entrepreneurs. It is notable that the Micro loan which pushed the portfolio over this new threshold was disbursed by the Khachmaz branch as AccessBank attaches special improtance to increasing access to financial services specifically in the regions of Azerbaijan. AccesssBank is experiencing increased demand for its services and only during the first three week of this month the Bank has disbursed over 4,500 micro business loans for over USD 13 million. These are record figures for the bank for a three-week period. Loans for micro and small enterprises are a specialization of AccessBank. The Bank disburses loans to its customers depending on their needs starting from 100 up to one-million USD / AZN / EUR.

by Bharathi Ram -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Provides EUR 5m Loan to Macedonian Commercial Bank, TTK Banka A.D. Skopje (TTK); Fund will be Used to Provide Microloans to Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Macedonia

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg based microfinance fund has agreed to lend EUR 5 million to TTK Banka A.D. Skopje (TTK), a commercial bank based in Skopje, Macedonia as part of a loan agreement to help TTK further expand its outreach to micro and small entrepreneurs in the Republic of Macedonia. In a news release found on the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management website, Nikolche Petkoski, a member of the Board of Directors at TTK said that the loan, which would help TTK to support and increase access to finance for micro and small businesses in Macedonia, was particularly important during the present ‘times of economic uncertainty’.

by Bharathi Ram -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Azerdemiryolbank of Azerbaijan Receives $3m Loan from ING Bank to Support Microfinance Business

Azerdemiryolbank of Azerbaijan received a 12-month loan worth USD 3 million from the ING Bank of the Netherlands. According to a press release on Trend Capital, the loan would support microfinance businesses in Azerbaijan. The release quoted Mr. Yusif Jabbarov, the Vice-Chairman of the Bank, as saying the stated loan was the first cooperation in micro-crediting between a Dutch bank and an Azerbaijani lending agency.

by Jeffrey Erfe -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Thirty-Five Organizations Sign Client Protection Principles to Ensure Fair Treatment and Financial Protection of Low-Income Microfinance Clients

In late October, 35 microfinance institutions (MFIs) and investment funds signed the Client Protection Principles (CPP), a list of pro-consumer principles and mandates that aims to become an industry-wide standard for ensuring the fair treatment and financial protection of low-income microfinance clients.  The CPP are part of a larger campaign launched in September of 2008 at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, a conglomeration of governments and public and private organizations dedicated to sustainable development, with the goal of incorporating at least half of the world’s 500 largest MFIs within the next three years. According to Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), there is little evidence of client abuse in the microfinance sector.  

by Jocelyn Cheng -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans the Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KCIB) USD 5 million to Expand Microfinance Operations and Provides Mortgage Lending Advisory Services to Microfinance Institution Bai Tushum in the Kyrgyz Republic

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, announced a pair of microfinance and mortgage initiatives in the Krygyz Republic. On the microfinance side, IFC is extending a USD 5 million loan to the Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KICB), a full-service commercial bank in the Krygyz Republic. The proceeds will be directed toward expanding lending to micro, small and medium businesses in remote areas of the Krygyz Republic, as well as supporting agricultural projects.

by Greg Casey -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Fitch Ratings Assigns the Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan (MFBA) a Grade of BB+

Fitch Ratings has assigned the Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan (MFBA) a long-term issue default rating of BB+, a short-term issue default rating of B and a long-term outlook of ‘stable.’ This rating qualifies MFBA as investment grade and makes it the highest rated private bank in Azerbaijan.