Posts Tagged ‘finance’

Posted on July 1, 2009 - by Gavin

Economic Policy Tilting Toward the Less Rich…

The Korea Times

In an apparent reaction to criticism, the Lee Myung-bak administration has been adopting a series of policies to appease the less well off. But the move has attracted criticism from chaebol and the rich.
Finance-Strategy Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun announced his intention not to cut income and corporate taxes for big business, and then on Tuesday unveiled a 2.1-trillion-package for the poor.

But chaebol lobby group, the Federation of Korean Industries, Tuesday urged the government to adopt a pro-business policy so that companies can create more jobs and increase investment.

The policy U-turn came amid opposition criticism that the Lee administration is a government only for the rich and business groups.

Minister Yoon said it will become easier for the working class to get small loans without collateral, and families with three or more children will be given priority when applying for apartments supplied by the government.

“Difficulties are continuing for the working class as incomes fall, household economies worsen and the job market falters,” the minister said Tuesday. “It will take considerable time until things get easier for the working class, though the economy is showing signs of improvement,” he added. (more…)

Posted on June 26, 2009 - by Gavin

Home Proposals pave way for banks to reach rural poor…

Business Daily

Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday proposed amendments
to the Banking Act to legalize branchless banking and allow the
Kenya Post office and Savings Bank to trade in the foreign
exchange market.

Should the proposals be enacted, The Post Office Bank long
saddled by laws barring it from carrying out conventional banking
business will now be able to receive deposits on behalf of
commercial banks while trading in the forex market.

In the landmark proposal, minister for finance Uhuru Kenyatta’s
move to allow commercial banks to use non-bank agents such as the
post office is expected to unlock the reach of banking services
across the country.

(more…)

Posted on June 25, 2009 - by Gavin

FINO: Bank to the poor…

Business Rediff

Thirty-seven-year-old Sivan Pandiyan had to run from pillar to
post for over seven to eight months to get a meagre Rs 5,000 as
loan from a bank to carry out the maintenance and repair work of
his taxi.

Tested to his limits, Pandiyan finally turned to the Financial
Information Network & Operations Ltd, which came to his
rescue by sanctioning the amount without any hassle.

Thanks to FINO, Pandiyan has been able to repair his taxi to eke
out a living earning Rs 500-1,000 per day.

For many like Pandiyan, FINO has emerged as the helping hand
providing much-needed financial assistance instantaneously,
making it an attractive alternative to banks.

(more…)

Posted on June 23, 2009 - by Gavin

Micro Credit in USDA’s Election Plan…

The Irrawaddy News

Posted on June 23, 2009 - by Gavin

Govt to increase access to financial services…

Kenya Broadcasting
President Mwai Kibaki Monday underscored his
governments’ commitment to formulating and implementing policies
that will lead to the development of a stable, efficient, safe and
accessible financial sector.
“news”>The President said the government is working
towards increasing access to financial services and products to all
Kenyans, particularly the poor, low income households and micro and
small scale enterprises.
“news”>President Kibaki who was speaking Monday
during the Family Bank’s Silver Jubilee celebrations at Kenyatta
International Conference Centre noted that a vibrant financial
sector is vital to a country’s social and economic development
since it provides the financial resources needed for
growth. “news”>”In Kenya this is one
sector that has helped in the attainment of our development
aspirations, and will continue to play a pivotal role in the
realization of VISION 2030,” President Kibaki said.
In this regard, President Kibaki directed
the Central Bank of Kenya to enhance its efforts to provide
information on the cost of banking services to
Kenyans. The President said
the information should be delivered in formats that can be easily
understood and used for comparison of the pricing of different
banking products and services to enable Kenyans shop for
competitive banking services.
“news”>Besides improving access to financial
services, President Kibaki said the Government will implement
measures aimed at bringing down the cost of credit which has
remained beyond the reach of many Kenyans.
These measures will include the
implementation of credit information sharing, the President
said. The Head of State observed that following the
implementation of regulations to facilitate credit information
sharing in February this year, the Central Bank of Kenya will
license Credit Reference Bureaus.
“news”>”The Bureaus will gather credit information
from banks that will facilitate lending decisions. This information
will also be extremely helpful for borrowers who may not have
physical collateral. In
cases such as this, an individual’s credit history will serve as
the collateral for loans,” President Kibaki said.
“news”>The President also urged banks to exploit
technology to reach more Kenyans in a cost effective way, noting
that the Financial Access National Survey for 2009 indicates that
the banking sector still serves only 22 per cent of the bankable
population.

The Head of State cited mobile phone technology as an example of
channels that banks could use to reach more Kenyans, saying the
success of mobile money transfer services underscores the
potential of mobile phone financial services.

“Kenyans continue to show a strong affinity to mobile phones that
can be tapped to provide financial services. I, therefore,
encourage banks to scale up their use of mobile phone banking as
a delivery channel to offer cost effective banking services,”
President Kibaki said.

He commended Family Bank for adopting a banking business model
that focuses on millions of the un-banked Kenyans at the lower
end of the society, saying despite the significant growth in the
number of commercial banks witnessed over the years, a majority
of Kenyans are still un-banked.

President Kibaki noted that the Family Bank is one of the only
two building societies that successfully became banks, but
dealing mainly in microfinance.

The President said over the last decade microfinance has
developed significantly and has now assumed a central role as one
of the key drivers of the country’s economic growth and efforts
to fight poverty.

He saidin providing small business enterprises with appropriate
financial products and services, such banking institutions have
been contributing in the delivery of the social benefits often
associated with such businesses.

Said the President: “Experience the world over has taught us that
the micro-enterprises are key to sustainable economic development
and in particular to the elimination of poverty.”

The Head of State pointed out that micro-enterprises provide a
path to economic self-reliance for owners and entrepreneurs while
benefiting their local communities.

“Indeed, as a channel of intermediation, the financial sector has
continued to play an immensely crucial role in the development of
our economy,” the President said.

The President expressed satisfaction that a Financial Access
National Survey for 2009 indicates that various policy actions
formulated by the Government to foster access to financial
services by Kenyans have begun to bear fruit.

President Kibaki, however, said much more needs to be done in
ensuring that more Kenyans have access to the financial services.

In this regard, the President said the recent budget proposals by
the Minister for Finance on branchless banking and
principal-agent models of financial service delivery will go a
long way in facilitating strategic alliances between banks and
non-bank financial institutions such as SACCOs and Microfinance
Institutions.

He said such alliances will serve to ensure that more Kenyans can
access safe, efficient and affordable financial services.

The President also expressed satisfaction that the first
Nationwide Deposit Taking Microfinance Institution was officially
launched by the Central Bank recently after the Microfinance Act
of 2008, which provides for both National and Community Deposit
Taking Microfinance Institutions, became operational.

“The Government and, indeed, the public expect these institutions
to serve especially the rural and peri-urban areas that have
previously been inadequately served by the banking sector.

More particularly, they have a unique capacity to direct
financing to small-scale enterprises that lie at the heart of
Kenya ’s economic development,” said the President.

Saying the deposit base in Kenya ’s banking sector has increased
to 940 billion shillings, 69 per cent of which has been extended
as loans, the President said the commendable increase creates a
strong base for banks to lend to enterprises.

“This phenomenal growth in the banking sectors’ deposit base has
been backed by an exponential growth in the number of bank
accounts.

The number of bank accounts has increased from 2.6 million at the
end of 2005 to 6.4 million at the end of last year,” President
Kibaki said.

Speaking during the same occasion, Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister for Finance Uhuru Kenyatta said that with the improved
environment for doing business in the country, it is possible for
the country’s economic growth to attain the targeted 10 per cent
mark but cautioned that political climate must be conducive too.

Central of Bank of Kenya Governor Prof. Njuguna Ndungu commended
local banks for expanding their services to the East African
region, noting that the East African region’s Central Banks have
signed a memorandum of understanding for sharing information and
supervisory cooperation.

Prof Njuguna also urged local banks to reduce barriers of
acquiring banking services and account maintenance costs to reach
more of the unbanked Kenyans.

Family Bank Chairman Titus Muya announced that Family Bank had
abolished all ledger fees for savings accounts to minimize the
cost of maintaining an account with the bank for ordinary
Kenyans.

Mr. Muya thanked President Kibaki for his role in building the
country’s robust economic development rate within his first term
of leadership and termed the President as one the main
architects’ of the country’s economic foundation since
independence.

The function was attended by Internal Security Minister Prof.
George Saitoti, Head of Public Service and Secretary to the
Cabinet Amb. Francis Muthaura and other senior public and private
sector officials.

Source:
“http://www.kbc.co.ke/story.asp?ID=58153″>http://www.kbc.co.ke/story.asp?ID=58153

Posted on June 18, 2009 - by Gavin

Micro-finance companies’ bank financing ratio won’t rise…

China Daily

The 50-percent limit on micro-finance companies’ bank financing ratio won’t be eased in the short run, according to Zang Jingfan, head of the cooperative finance supervision department of the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

“It is not good timing to increase micro-finance companies’ current ratio since they may pass their risks over to banks,” Zang said in an interview with 21st Century Business Herald after the Tsinghua China rural financial development forum last week. His comments came amid recent calls for raising the ratio.

Micro-finance companies have two ways to raise funds, the first is from shareholders and donations, which are both hard to increase, the other is financing from at most two banks.

Current rules, however, impose a 50-percent limit on the companies’ balance of bank financing against their net capital, restricting their plans to expand amid constrained funding sources.

Commenting on the calls, Zang said micro-finance companies can still ease the difficulty of financing by increasing their capital funds or granting short term loans for more efficient use of the funds, rather than simply depending on borrowing money from the banks. (more…)

Posted on June 17, 2009 - by Gavin

LeapFrog Raises $44 Million for World’s First Microinsurance Fund…

PR Newswire

LUXEMBOURG, – In a breakthrough for microfinance and alternative investment, the LeapFrog Financial Inclusion Fund announced today that it has raised US$44 million. It is the world’s first investment fund focused on microinsurance. The fund aims to invest in businesses that will bring insurance and financial services to 25 million low-income people in Africa and Asia.

The capital was raised from a diverse set of public and private investors around the world, including the European Investment Bank (EIB), FMO, Omidyar Network, Triodos-Doen, Hivos-Triodos Fund, ACCION International, Calvert Large Cap Growth Fund, wealth manager Felipe Medina, and the LeapFrog team. The team consists of former CEOs and pioneers in insurance and investment in emerging markets.

“The world desperately needs market-based solutions to poverty that draw in major financial investors by offering fair but competitive returns,” said Dr. Andrew Kuper, President and Founder of LeapFrog. “The best part about microinsurance is that we can reach millions of people, swiftly. Microinsurance is both profitable and scalable. We can think big. We don’t have to choose between money and meaning.” (more…)

Posted on June 15, 2009 - by Gavin

Mobile money to the poor will see $5 bln market in 2012…

Reuters

HELSINKI,(Reuters) – The market of mobile financial services to poor people in emerging markets will surge from nothing to $5 billion in 2012, U.S.-based microfinance policy and research center CGAP said on Monday.

Mobile money is one of the hottest topics in the wireless world, but so far take-up of services has been mostly limited to a few emerging markets, as in developed countries the popularity of online banking has been a brake on mobile money.

“Theres a lot of excitement, but very little understanding what’s going on as the number of implementations is still limited,” said Mark Pickens, microfinance analyst at CGAP.

The market began in early 2007 with a launch of Safaricom’s (SCOM.NR: Quote, Profile, Research) M-PESA in Kenya, which has attracted 6.5 million customers, or one in six Kenyans.

Operators in several emerging countries have followed, and by end-2009 CGAP expects more than 120 mobile money implementations in developing markets. (more…)

Posted on June 12, 2009 - by Gavin

Area Rotarians raise $900 toward micro finance loan for bank in Africa…

Sierra Star

Last week, it took just 50 people at an Oakhurst Sierra Rotary fundraising dinner to raise more than $900 for Opportunity International at Sweetwater Steakhouse. Those dollars will go toward the overall goal of $300,000 that the nonprofit micro finance organization will use to build a bank in Mbale, an African market town in Uganda. The bank in Mbale will provide micro finance loans to impoverished entrepreneurs there to start small businesses. The businesses will help entrepreneurs to save and repay their loans to the bank. In turn, the repayments will provide for more loans and a greater financial infrastructure for Mbale.

For Rotarian John Crane, the prospect of a cyclical investment has appeal. “I heard about the idea of providing loans for the poor to help them create self-sustaining businesses and I got really excited about the potential to not only help people, but to spread our (Rotarian) values globally,” he said.

Crane said he was deeply affected by a study-abroad term he spent as a young student in Honduras, where Marxist teaching was pervasive, as was anti-capitalist thinking. “I came to realize that the problem is, I believe, that capitalism never got to them,” he said. “I really believe in our country, in the idea that if you’re willing to work for it, the opportunity for success is there.”

(more…)

Posted on June 11, 2009 - by Gavin

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Triodos Bank Invests USD 900,000 in Microfinance Institutions in May…

Microcapital

Triodos Bank has reported to the CGAP Microfinance Dealbook investments totaling approximately USD 900,000 this month.  The bank has invested 834,000 in IMON International in Tajikistan through the Triodos-Doen Foundation, and has loaned 61,000 to BICC in Honduras through the Hivos-Triodos Fund.

Triodos Bank was established as a commercial bank by the Triodos Foundation in 1980 and provides finance for socially beneficial and environmentally sustainable enterprises. Triodos has participated in microfinance activities since 1994, when it founded the Hivos-Triodos Fund and the Triodos-Doen Foundation.  The Hivos-Triodos Fund is a joint initiative with the Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation (Hivos). As of December 2008, the fund had a portfolio of EUR 43.6 million (USD 60.9 million). The Triodos-Doen Foundation is administered in cooperation with the DOEN Foundation, which is funded by the proceeds from the National Postal Code Lottery and the Sponsor Lottery. As of December 2008, Triodos-Doen’s portfolio amounted to EUR 55 million (USD 76.8 million). (more…)

Posted on June 10, 2009 - by Gavin

World Bank approves new Afghanistan aid strategy…

Reuters

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The World Bank on Thursday approved $600 million in grant funding for Afghanistan under a new three-year lending strategy that focuses on making government systems more effective and transparent, and encouraging private-sector investment.

 

In an interview with Reuters, Nicholas Krafft, World bank country director for Afghanistan, said there was enough flexibility built into the program to adapt it to political changes arising from elections in August.

 

Despite increased insecurity in Afghanistan and resurgence of Talibaninsurgents since 2006, Krafft said there had been successes in education, health, microfinance and building roads to make rural areas more accessible.

 

There also was success in strengthening the public management system that had allowed the World Bank to channel its aid through the government budget.

 

The Bank has been trying to encourage other donors to do the same, Krafft said. Some two-thirds of foreign aid to Afghanistan falls outside its budget, making it difficult to promote meaningful donor coordination and for the government to build up national programs. (more…)

Posted on June 9, 2009 - by Gavin

The Bill on non-bank credit institutions adopted by Milli Majlis in the first reading…

ABC.AZ

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Today Milli Majlis (Parliament of Azerbaijan) adopted the Bill on Non-Bank Credit Institutions.

The Bill comprises of 26 articles and defines the order of creating non-bank credit institutions, acquisition of license in the Central Bank, and opening of branches.

Under the bill, non-bank credit institutions can be established by local and foreign legal entities and individuals and are divided into two types – those having the right to accept pawn deposits and those not having this right. The Bill also allows non-bank credit institutions to open branches and representative offices. Non-bank credit institution’s license request is to be considered within 30 days. Besides, Central Bank may refuse the license in some cases.

Non-bank credit institutions’ financing sources can be the capital of organisations and received incomes, raised loans, gratuitous funds received from legal entities and individuals. Furthermore, the Bill also stipulates compulsory external audit of non-bank credit institutions’ by the end of a fiscal year. External audit must be conducted within five months after the fiscal year is over and a suitable response with enclosed auditor’s summary should be submitted to the Central Bank. The Central Bank is also to control activity of such institutions. (more…)

Posted on June 9, 2009 - by Gavin

World Bank rural finance scheme to help Indian farmers…

Sakaal Times

WASHINGTON: With a $20 million Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation contribution, the World Bank will establish an Agriculture Finance Support Facility to support the expansion of rural finance in the developing world including India.

In a time of tight credit, the Facility will support grants to bank and non-bank institutions for activities to increase access to financial services, such as savings, credit, payments and insurance, in rural areas in developing countries as profitable business lines, the bank announced on Monday.

“In India, a country with relatively high rural banking outreach, 45 percent of smallholder farmers did not have a savings account, and 69 percent did not have a credit account with formal financial institutions,” it noted announcing the new venture in recognition of the financial crisis hitting the poorest the hardest.

“There is a great need among smallholder farmers, who make up the bulk of the world’s poor, for ways to save and manage their money,” said Carlos Cuevas, Deputy Director of Financial Services for the Poor for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

(more…)

Posted on June 2, 2009 - by Gavin

Govt scales economic growth projection to 5 p.c…

The Citizen

The economy will grow by 5 per cent this year, two per cent down from the 7.4 per cent in 2008, the minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Mr Mustafa Mkulo, said in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

The Government had in April projected that the economy will grow by 6 per cent in 2009, down from the 7 per cent in 2008/09.

Presenting the state of the economy summary to the members of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance and Economy in Dar es Salaam yesterday, ahead of the tabling of the national budget later this month, Mr Mkulo said the revision of the economic growth projections were taken in consideration to the global economic downturn effects to Tanzania.

“Our macro-economic policy targets show that growth on various sectors will decline in 2009, but pick up again later in 2010,” he said.

Members of the committee were, however, not impressed by the minister’s explanation on local economic downturn. (more…)

Posted on June 1, 2009 - by Gavin

New MFI to issue property loans…

The Phnom Penh Post

First Finance – a joint venture with Phillip Capital Group of Singapore and private investors – says it will lend to the struggling property sector despite the continuing downturn and bad loans

WHILE most banks remain reluctant to provide real estate loans to customers amid the global financial downturn, a new microfinance institution set to launch June 8 says it will channel lending to house purchases and construction.

“For the first time, home financing will be available to middle- and lower-income Cambodians,” Talmage Payne, CEO of newcomer First Finance, told the Post on Friday. “We are going to offer a product that the other [microfinance institutions] are not touching – loans for house purchasing.”

First Finance is a joint venture between Phillip Capital Group and local individual investors. The Phillip Capital Group is a Singapore-based Asian financial house with operations in eight countries in the Asia-Pacific and Europe. (more…)

Posted on May 29, 2009 - by Gavin

Africa banks on cell phones…

Global Post

Millions to enter banking system through mobile phone system.

ACCRA, Ghana — Most working people here do not exist, at least not in the records of any trustworthy bank: The taxi drivers stash their salaries beneath floor mats and the market women tie their earnings up in the waistlines of their wrapper-skirts.

They are the “un-banked” — potential customers but for now invisible, lost among the 80 percent of Africans who do their banking in tin cans and fanny packs. They do not keep the sort of accounts one can present to a loan officer.

Africa’s economy of cash handovers and stowed-away savings has long been a hindrance to the continent’s economic growth, as well as a cause and excuse to deny credit to its poor.

But now, at a time when 10 million Ghanaians own a phone, the world’s banks, cell phone networks and aid agencies are coming here to flip one thing into the other — to tweak a few features on a sim card, circumvent some regulations, and voila: The ordinary pre-paid cell phone becomes something not unlike a checking account — a way to text money from person to person throughout this intricate economy. (more…)

Posted on May 28, 2009 - by Gavin

MICROCAPITAL STORY: World Bank Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Project in Ghana Disburses $3.2m for Year Ended June 2008; Total Project Value $118.9m…

Microcapital

The World Bank, an international quasi-public bank, has committed USD 118.9 million to its Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) project in Ghana. For the year ended June 2008 USD 3.21 million had been disbursed. The purpose of the project is to promote entrepreneurial activities within MSME as it comprises almost 70 percent of the Ghanaian workforce.

The World Bank’s Country Director for Ghana, Mats Karlsson, has said: “Growth and employment in Ghana are directly linked to the growth of MSMEs …. Ghanaian banks will be more able to link up to Ghanaian businesses for more investment and private sector jobs.” The project will be administered by local World Bank staff.

This project is aimed at improving the competitiveness and employment levels in MSMEs through financial and private sector development, improvements to regulation and competition policies and support of MSMEs. This will be accomplished by improving access to finance for MSMEs and improving access to markets by reducing trade barriers. (more…)

Posted on May 26, 2009 - by Gavin

PAPER WRAP-UP: Microfinance Funds Continue to Grow Despite the Crisis, by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)…

Microcapital

According to recent CGAP research report, microfinance funds have not been severely impacted by the global financial crisis.The report acknowledges that while emerging market funds have experienced a 20 percent sell-off, microfinance investment funds (MIVs) experienced positive returns in 2008.In fact, assets in the top 10 microfinance investment funds grew by 32 percent in 2008.The report is based on UBS Investment Research regarding economic comment on the state of the emerging markets, CGAP and Symbiotic’s (a microfinance investment advisor) research on the top 10 microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), and the historical performance of euro-denominated funds as obtained from the Symbiotics Microfinance Index EUR.

As of December 2008, there were 104 active microfinance funds with total assets under management of USD 6.5 billion.CGAP notes that the industry is very concentrated (private equity funds, holding of microfinance banks, fixed income funds, structure finance vehicles and a broad range of institutions) with the top 10 funds holding about 60 percent of the asset base.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, as well as other Development investors are presently active in the microfinance community and have been strengthening their portfolios in response to the credit crisis.Retail investors have also contributed to the growth of microfinance funds in 2008.For example, a retail-oriented fund, the responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund has increased by 17 percent since September 2008 and 96 percent for the year.

(more…)

Posted on May 25, 2009 - by Gavin

UAE firm to launch first microfinance unit in Oman…

Emirates Business 24/7

The first microfinance project in Oman is to be launched by PlaNet Finance UAE to give financial assistance to entrepreneurs.

Microfinance schemes provide financial services to those on low income. In the GCC only Saudi Arabia and Bahrain currently have such organisations. Now a new joint stock company called Greenfield is being formed to create a microfinance institution (MFI) in the Sultanate of Oman.

“PlaNet Finance is in the process of registering the first MFI in Oman and the initiative is supported by business groups such as the Ajith Khimji Group and MB Holding and philanthropist Samir Fancy,” Programme Manager Sawsen Ayari told Emirates Business.

“The headquarters of the Greenfield MFI will be in Muscat with branches planned in Salalah and other parts of Oman. The maiden MFI in Oman will provide financial and non-financial services to poor Omani entrepreneurs, especially female entrepreneurs. The project is being implemented with the support of the Omani Ministry of Social Development.” (more…)

Posted on May 21, 2009 - by Gavin

‘SBP, govt aim to drag poverty level below 10% by 2015’…

Daily Times

KARACHI: Deputy Governor State Bank of Pakistan Yaseen Anwar has said that the SBP and the government have been actively promoting financial inclusion to help achieve the target of reducing the level of poverty to below 10 percent by 2015.

Delivering a keynote address at the launch of World Bank’s Study on Access to Finance for the Underserved and Small Enterprises at a hotel in Karachi on Wednesday, Anwar said the financial inclusion is the core component of State Bank’s financial sector development strategy, which envisages transforming the financial market into an equitable system with efficient market-based financial services to the otherwise excluded poor and marginalized population including women and young people.

He said the State Bank of Pakistan has taken a number of measures to actively promote financial inclusion and these efforts have also been recognized by the World Bank’s Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP). The Consultative Group said that the State Bank has one of the most conducive policy and regulatory frameworks, which encourage access to financial services. (more…)