by Courtney Snelling -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Credit Bureau, MiDAS, Launched by Microfinance Institutions in Philippines

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) Taytay Sa Kauswagan Incorporated (TSKI), Opportunity Kauswagan Bank, CARD Bank, CARD NGO, Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation Incorporated, Ahon Sa Hirap and ASA Philippines signed a memorandum of agreement creating the Microfinance Data Sharing System (MiDAS) in January of this year after an initial pilot phase in 2011 [1].

by Kristha Abores -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United Bank of India Expects To Increase Financial Inclusion through Launch of United Mobile Banking

United Bank of India (UBI), which is owned by the Indian government, has launched United Mobile Banking, which allows customers to use mobile phones to access services such as balance inquiry, mini-statement, stop-check facility, intra-bank fund transfers and inter-bank fund transfers through the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) payment system.

by Rick Altieri -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Equifax India to Launch Microfinance Credit Bureau In Partnership with Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Prime, ReligareFinvest, Sundaram Finance, Union Bank of India

The Indian unit of Equifax Credit Information Services, a US-based consumer credit reporting agency, has partnered with the following six Indian banks to launch a credit bureau devoted to transactions in the microfinance sector: Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Prime, ReligareFinvest, Sundaram Finance and Union Bank of India.

by Carol Kim -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Union Bank of India (UBI) Launching Microfinance Schemes Under “unioninclusions”

Union Bank of India (UBI), a nationalized bank with approximately USD 44 billion in total assets, recently announced the launch of “unioninclusions” in an effort to deepen financial inclusion. Announced in Mumbai by Shri Pranab Mukherjee, India’s Finance Minister, the initiative includes the following five schemes: 1) the opening of 11 specialized financial-inclusion branches; 2) biometric card-to-card remittance facility for migrant laborers; 3) mobile van banking to serve unbanked villages in the state of Odisha; 4) publication of a comic book series intended to spread financial literacy among illiterate people in rural areas; 5) funding solar power for Union Adarsh Gram, a program launched by UBI in June 2010 to adopt 101 rural villages across India to offer development and modernization.
by Matthew Castner -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: “African Mobile Micro-Finance & M-Remittances Summit” Conference Hosted by BSP Events and Forums May 10 – May 11, 2010 in Ikoyi, Lagos

Event Name: African Mobile Micro-Finance & M-Remittances Summit

Event Date: May 10 – May 11, 2010

Event Location: Ikoyi, Lagos

Event Website: http://www.bspmediagroup.com/event.php?EID=58

See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events

by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Issues 2009 Annual Report Highlighting Increase in Access to Microfinance through Mobile Banking

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, recently released its 2009 annual report highlighting developments in the Philippine economy and microfinance industry.

by Christopher Maggio -

MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: The Central Bank of India, A Nationalized Commercial Bank, Signs Deal with Government of Orissa and State-Owned Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation (IPICOL) for Rs 25,000 Crore (USD 5.3 Billion) Line of Credit for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Over 5 Years

The Central Bank of India, a nationalized commercial bank has plans to extend Rs 25,000 crore, the equivalent of over USD 5.3 billion worth of credit over five years to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the east coast state of Orissa [1,2]. The credit comes after the Central Bank signed a deal with the government of Orissa and the Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation (IPICOL), a state-run organization that “[operates] the State incentive schemes to large and medium industries under the Industrial Policy of the Government” [3,4]. Prior to this, the Central Bank of India had only made investments worth Rs 3,000 crore, the equivalent of over USD 644.8 million, in the Orissa state [1].

by Zoran Stanisljevic -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: USAID Signs a USD 16 Million Dollar Loan Agreement with Ethiopian Awash International Bank and Oromiya Cooperative Bank S.C.

According to AllAfrica, a multi-media content service provider of news in Africa, USAID has recently signed a USD 16 million dollar loan agreement with Ethiopian Awash International Bank and Oromiya Cooperative Bank S.C [1]. The agreement was reached to help strengthen the economic development of Ethiopia by enabling microfinance institutions and savings and credit cooperatives to offer more loans [1]. No additional information is provided as to whether the funds are on-lent to MFIs or which MFIs will receive these funds. According to the AllAfrica story, the loan agreement would reduce collateral requirements to beneficiaries by 50 percent, but it is unclear who the beneficiaries are. There is no additional information regarding the terms and usage of loan, structure of the program or how it would reduce collateral requirements is provided.

by Bharathi Ram -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor States that nearly 50 percent of Farmer Households in India Still Have No Access to Credit; Calls for More Measures to Extend Financial Services in the Country

Nearly half of farmer households in India do not have access to credit either from the banks or other non-banking sources, said the Reserve Bank of India deputy governor Dr. K.C.Chakrabarty, speaking at a conference held recently in Chennai, India and  focused on the theme ‘Banking: Key Driver for Inclusive Growth’. In his address, Dr. Chakrabarty pointed out that as per figures published by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) in 2008, 45.9 million farmer households out of a total of 89.3 million households do not have access to credit either from the institutional or non-institutional sources and that as of NSSO’s 2007 figures, a single branch caters to the banking needs of a population of about 16,000 [2]. He also pointed out that for every 100 persons, there are only 17 credit accounts and 54 saving accounts with all institutions put together. Commenting on the sources of loans, Dr. Chakrabarty added that of the people having annual income less than Rs.50,000 (USD 1100), only 28.3 percent had bank accounts, with just 13 per cent availing loans from the banks and 53 per cent people still taking loans from the institutional and non-institutional sources only for emergency purposes. He pressed that the above facts underscore the ‘urgent need’ for extending the banking and financial services to every part of the country for achieving the objective of inclusive growth and that the recent focus of the RBI has been on providing access to affordable banking services to every person.

by Bharathi Ram -

MICROCAPITAL EVENT: 2009 Coalition of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Policy Conference to be held in Washington D.C. from March 1-3

2009 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Policy Conference

March 1-3, 2009

The 2009 CDFI Institute Policy Conference will be held in Washington D.C., USA from March 1-3, 2009. The three day conference, which will feature dialogue with community development finance experts about issues facing the field of development finance, will be held at The Liaison Capitol Hill, an Affinia hotel. Participants at the event include policy makers, CDFI members, socially responsible investors, pension funds and banks. The event website can be found here.

by Ryan Hogarth -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: FINO and NCR to Install 30 Thousand Smartcard Micro-Deposit Machines in India Over 5 Years in an Effort to Reduce the Cost of Microfinance Services

Financial Information Network and Operations Ltd. (FINO), an Indian technology company that produces biometric smartcards, collaborated with the National Cash Register Corporation (NCR), the automated teller machine (ATM) manufacturing company, unveiled a new micro depository machine in Mumbai called the EasyPoint 70 Tijori. As part of the partnership, FINO has committed to release 1000 of the machines, and has reported to have already reached an accord to roll-out an additional 30 thousand machines over the next five-years. However, the company has not specified who will buy the machines. The machine is designed for semi-urban and rural areas, which are traditionally underserved by banks. It is estimated that 560 million people in India (about 51 per cent of the population) are financially underserved. The companies hope to reach 25 million unbanked people with the EasyPoint 70 Tijori by 2011.

by Scott Everett -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: FINO Reaches Two-million Unbanked Populations in India and Releases Micro-Loan Management Software

Financial Information Network and Operations Ltd. (FINO), a technology organization that produces biometric smartcards and micro-loan management software, has completed 2 million enrollments of customers in India. The number of enrollments increased from 1 million to 2 million in less than 4 months with an average of 20,000 customers being enrolled per day. FINO’s rapid growth is in part due to the extensive network of banks and other financial and government institutions utilizing their technology. That network includes Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, Corporation Bank, DGB, ICICI Bank, ING Vysya, OBC, PNB, and UBI.