responsAbility Social Investments AG (responsAbility), a social investment company based in Switzerland, reported to MicroCapital the details of six debt investments it made in September 2010 to Inecobank of Armenia, SEF International of Armenia and Kazmicrofinance (KMF) of Kazakhstan totaling USD 4.4 million.
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Floods Cause $31m in Damage to 86 Branches of Pakistan’s Microfinance Institutions
According to participants at a recent roundtable in Islamabad organized by the Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), last month’s floods in Pakistan caused PKR 2.7 billion (the equivalent of USD 31.4 million) in damage to 86 branches of the country’s microfinance institutions.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ Bank) to Start Microfinance Center in Fiji
Norman Wilson, the chief executive of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ Bank), a publicly traded bank that provides retail, commercial banking and wealth management services, confirmed that the bank is planning to start a microfinance center in Fiji in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank, and the International Financial Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AccessBank of Azerbaijan Launches Education Loan Product
AccessBank, a financial institution based in Azerbaijan, recently announced the launch of a new education loan product. The product is intended to finance students’ post-secondary education and offers lower interest rates for students earning high grades.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Suryoday Microfinance Raises $4.5m from Lok Capital and Aavishkaar Goodwell
Suryoday Microfinance Private Limited, an Indian non-banking financial company (NBFC), recently announced the closing of its Series B equity financing for a total of INR 175 million (USD 3.8 million), provided by Lok Capital, a new investor in the company, and Suryoday’s existing investor Aavishkaar Goodwell, both of which are social investment/microfinance equity funds operating in India.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Provides $94m Loan to Credit Europe Bank of Russia for SMEs
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a London-based development finance institution, recently announced it is providing an unsecured, five-year loan of RUB 2.9 billion (USD 94 million) to Credit Europe Bank Limited of Russia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank and ARB Apex Bank of Ghana Release Report on Rural and Community Banks, Categorize Fifteen for Liquidation
The World Bank, an anti-poverty international financial institution, and ARB Apex Bank, a Ghanaian bank that operates under the supervision of the Bank of Ghana and is held by rural and community banks (RCBs), recently released a survey report, “Rural Banking: The Case of Rural and Community Banks in Ghana”, which identified fifteen of 136 Ghanaian RCBs for possible liquidation.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institutions Shifting to Monthly Loan Repayment Schedule
Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs) are offering loan products with monthly repayment plans as opposed to weekly payment terms, and according to a recent article more Indian microfinance institutions are considering offering products with monthly payment terms [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation and Daiwa Securities Group Inc Announce Plan to Issue Bond, Expect to Raise $323m to Support Microfinance in Emerging Markets
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank group, and Daiwa Securities Group Inc, a Tokyo-based financial services group holding company, recently announced the details of a bond expected to be issued later this month and to raise USD 323 million.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: State Bank of Pakistan Devising New Microfinance Strategy, Focusing on Inclusiveness, Growth, Partnerships and Infrastructure
The State Bank of Pakistan, the country’s central banking authority, recently announced that the State Bank is devising a new microfinance strategy, one focused on financial inclusiveness, growth, partnerships and infrastructure development.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Approves $150m to Strengthen Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) and Small Business Projects in Latin America and the Caribbean
The Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB’s) Board of Executive Directors approved a loan and guarantees singular facility of USD 150 million to strengthen financial institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean to boost long-term financing to small business projects deemed to have a high social impact.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Wall’s Street Advisor Services (WSAS) Releases Series of Benchmarks for Equity Investments in Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) – WSAS MFI Shareholder Value Indexes (SVIX)
Wall’s Street Advisor Services (WSAS), an independent investment research consultancy, released the first of a new series of benchmarks for equity investments in microfinance institutions (MFIs) – the WSAS MFI Shareholder Value Indexes (SVIX).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Provides $1.5m Loan to Bai-Tushum to Support Micro- and Small Enterprises in Kyrgyz Republic
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), an international finance institution headquartered in London, is providing a loan of KGS 67.5 million (USD 1.5 million) to Bai Tushum and Partners, a microfinance institution (MFI) in the Kyrgyz Republic, for on-lending to micro- and small enterprises (MSEs). This constitutes the first of two equal tranches under a KGS 135 million (USD 3 million) loan agreement signed in March 2010. According to EBRD, the transaction is part of a USD 60 million non-bank MFI framework for “Early Transition Countries,” which was approved by EBRD in September 2008.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions Network May Link Up with Unique Identification Authority of India
The Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a trade association of Indian microfinance institutions, has announced its interest in registering with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), India’s government organization established in 2009, for issuing identification numbers to Indian residents.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank Executes $407m in Loans for Microfinance Initiatives in India
Officials of the World Bank, a member of the World Bank Group, and the government of India recently signed two loan agreements totaling INR 19 billion (USD 407 million) for the development of microfinance initiatives in India, including a statistical information system in India.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) to Invest $25m in Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Belarusian Bank for Small Business (BBSB) in Belarus, NLB Tuzlanska Banka in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and NLB Montenegrobanka in Montenegro
European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxemburg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), recently reported to MicroCapital that it has executed debt investments totaling USD 25 million to three microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Southeast Europe.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Uzbek Association for Microfinance Institutions and Credit Unions to Implement New Group Loan Program
Uzbekistan is reportedly implementing a new microfinance development project with help from the United Nations Development Program, German Technical Cooperation Center (GTZ) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: G20’s Financial Inclusion Experts Group (FIEG) Releases Nine “Principles for Innovative Financial Inclusion” at Leadership Summit in Toronto, Canada
The Financial Inclusion Experts Group (FIEG), a division of the G20 – a group of twenty finance ministers and central bank governors that discuss key issues in the global economy – released nine “Principles for Innovative Financial Inclusion” at the recent G20 leadership summit in Toronto. The principles are intended to form the basis of a concrete action plan for improving access to financial services for the poor, which will be released at the Seoul Summit in November.