The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a unit of the World Bank Group, recently agreed to loan USD 55 million to Argentina’s Banco Industrial (Bind) to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with “longer-term financing than [is] currently available in the local market.” An estimated 70 percent of SMEs in the country have difficulty accessing credit. David Tinel, IFC’s Regional Manager for the Southern Cone, states that for SMEs
Tag: Bank
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EFSE Invests $9m in Kredobank Bond Issue for Small, Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Lending in Ukraine
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-domiciled microfinance investment vehicle, recently invested UAH 312 million (USD 11 million) in Public Joint Stock Company (PJSC) Kredobank, a Ukrainian bank owned by the Polish financial services firm, Powszechna Kasa Oszczednosci (PKO) Bank Polski Spolka Akcyjna.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $45m to Bank CenterCredit of Kazakhstan, Mostly for Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) Run by Women Outside Major Cities
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, recently disbursed three-year loans totaling USD 45 million to Bank CenterCredit, a commercial bank in Kazakhstan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Disburses $148m for Energy-efficiency Projects for Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Argentina, El Salvador, Paraguay via UN’s Green Climate Fund
With funds drawn from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a UN-managed investment vehicle for mitigating the effects of climate change, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a member of the US-based IDB Group, recently made three loans totaling USD 140 million to finance energy-efficiency projects undertaken by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $29m to Turkish Leasing Firm QNB Finans Finansal Kiralama for Energy-efficiency Investments
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, recently loaned EUR 25 million (USD 29 million) to Qatar National Bank Finans Finansal Kiralama (QNB Finans Leasing), a subsidiary of the Turkish commercial bank, QNB Finansbank.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Commercial Bank of Ceylon Launches CBC Myanmar Microfinance Company
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon (CBC), which is based in Sri Lanka, recently announced the debut of a subsidiary called CBC Myanmar Microfinance Company Limited. The newly formed microfinance institution (MFI) will
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution Janalakshmi of India Converts to Jana Small Finance Bank
Jana Small Finance Bank (SFB), the successor to Indian microlender Janalakshmi Financial Services, recently announced the launch of its operations. Jana obtained its SFB license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in April 2017, but the launch was delayed by losses attributed to India’s 2016 demonetization.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CBN Doubts Nigeria will Meet 2020 Financial Inclusion Goal
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently reported that the country is not on track to meet the goals it set in the 2012 National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS). According to a CBN statement, “Nigeria has failed to meet its financial inclusion targets due to a variety of factors;
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) Loans $7m to Trustbank of Uzbekistan to Launch Shariah-compliant Services for Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a unit of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, recently loaned USD 7 million to Private Joint Stock Trustbank, a commercial bank in Uzbekistan, for it to roll out Shariah-compliant financial products
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Supports $100m IFC Loan to TienPhong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank) to Boost Digital Financial Services in Vietnam
With funds from the government-backed Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC) and other sources, the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently loaned USD 100 million to TienPhong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank) of Vietnam. TPBank plans to use the proceeds of the five-year loan to expand its lending via its website and mobile app.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Loans $33m in Local Currency to Exim Bank Tanzania for Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprise (MSME) Financing
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a public-private bank also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently loaned TZS 75 billion (USD 33 million) to Exim Bank Tanzania Limited, a commercial bank active in Tanzania, Comoros, Djibouti and Uganda. The bank has allocated the funds for lending to micro-,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s RBL Bank Completes Ownership of Microfinance Institution (MFI) Swadhaar Finserve with Equity Purchases from Accion, Individual Investors
RBL Bank Limited, an Indian commercial bank formerly known as Ratnakar Bank Limited (RBL), recently bought out the other owners of Swadhaar Finserve Private Limited (SFPL), a microfinance institution (MFI) providing loan, deposit and insurance services to low-income households as well as micro-, small
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Woori Bank of South Korea Acquires VisionFund Cambodia from Microfinance Subsidiary of US-based World Vision
VisionFund International, a UK-based NGO that offers microfinance services for World Vision, a US-based Christian relief and development organization, recently sold VisionFund Cambodia, a microfinance institution (MFI) serving rural
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: OPIC Loans $100m to Grupo Lafise for Housing, Consumer, SME Lending in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), an agency of the US government that seeks to facilitate investment by US-based firms in developing countries, recently loaned USD 100 million to the Panama-based Grupo Lafise, whose holdings provide retail banking, investment banking, export
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: I&M Bank Rwanda, Blockbonds to Roll Out Spenn, Mobile Banking App Based on Blockchain
I&M Bank Rwanda, a unit of Kenya’s I&M Holdings Limited, and Blockbonds, a Norwegian mobile banking technology firm, recently announced the debut of Spenn, an app offering person-to-person payments, retail point-of-sale transactions and electronic bank account deposits via mobile phones.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: RBZ Launches Zimbabwe Women Microfinance Bank to Finance Women’s Rural Enterprises
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) recently disbursed USD 10 million to form the Zimbabwe Women Microfinance Bank (ZWMB) Limited, an institution whose focus is to provide deposit and lending services to rural women entrepreneurs. Based in Harare, ZWMB is licensed and wholly-owned by RBZ.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government Policy Moves BancABC, CRDB, NMB to Cut Interest Rates on Loans in Tanzania
Tanzania’s government recently implemented the following measures with the goal of reducing customer borrowing costs: (1) cutting the Bank of Tanzania’s short-term rates on loans to banks to 6.89 percent; (2) lowering the longer-term discount rate to 9 percent; (3) reducing banks’ minimum deposit reserve requirement to 8 percent; (4) creating a credit reference system; and (5) “paying…audited debts to reduce non-performing loans.” In a recent speech,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: OPIC Loans $5m in Local Currency to Grameen Impact Investments India for SMEs
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), an agency of the US government that seeks to facilitate investment by US-based firms in developing countries, recently loaned INR 355 million (USD 5 million) to Grameen Impact Investments India (GIII), a unit of Grameen Capital India (GCI) that