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Over-indebtedness: Striking the Right Balance

Over-indebtedness is as old as lending itself. A growing credit market will always bring about cases of client over-indebtedness. To put consumer protection measures in place is an essential part of good practice.

Learning from the Indian Microfinance Crisis

As the Indian microfinance sector responds to the Andhra Pradesh crisis, an opportunity has been created in India, as well as in the global sector, to reevaluate their “people practices” and make them a core part of a system that has provided a safety net for millions.

Defining Microfinance Creatively in Russia

In August 2010, several internet-based media in Russia, including a number of very popular ones, published information about a company called AktivDen’gi (Active Money).

Basel Blesses Microfinance

Financial inclusion is moving beyond national boundaries to the international stage and the standard-setting bodies.

Social Performance and Financial Performance: Who’s Pulling Who?

The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) has released a new brief, Microfinance Synergies and Trade-Offs: Social versus Financial Performance Outcomes in 2008.

Priorities for Branchless Banking (Part 3 of 3)

Branchless banking is best conceived of as the construction of a network utility. In the third of three blog posts we’ve featured this week, Ignacio emphasizes the applications of this utility for poorer customers.

Priorities for Branchless Banking (Part 2 of 3)

In order for branchless banking to prove to be transformational, it needs to demonstrate not only that it can be scalable (priority #1), but also that it can work for a range of providers and for a range of customer segments – including the poor. These are the two next priorities for branchless banking.

Priorities for Branchless Banking (Part 1 of 3)

It is easy to foresee that in the future normal neighborhood stores will be used by poor people everywhere to conduct basic financial transactions, that technology based on real-time communications will be used to make those transactions reliable and secure, and further that providers will increasingly rely on people’s own mobile phones rather than on deploying cards and dedicated point of sale terminals.

How Can Regulators Protect Funds Held by Mobile Money Providers?

The success of mobile money services such as M-PESA has raised the question of how to regulate nonbanks—most notably mobile network operators, which are often well-placed to reach customers with affordable financial services due to their existing customer base, marketing capabilities, network of agents, physical distribution infrastructure, and experience with high-volume, low-value transactions.

SKS IPO Success and Excess

By market standards, the SKS IPO is a great success. Institutional investors have over-subscribed their allocations by 13 times, and the company’s valuation of USD 1.5 billion came in at the top end of the offer band price.

So How Exactly Do We Regulate Microfinance?

When it comes to prudential regulation – or safeguarding deposits – the stakes are particularly high. In microfinance, most MFIs aren’t big enough to threaten the health of the financial systems they’re part of if they run into trouble.

Truth in Advertising

How far do microfinance funds expect their investments to go in changing lives? Are microfinance funds looking for specific changes in the lives of poor people or increased access to finance in a responsible way? And can we tell from the information they provide?

FATF Puts Financial Inclusion on its Agenda

In early June, Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the G20 called on international standard- setting bodies to consider how they can further contribute to encouraging financial inclusion, consistent with their respective mandates. One key standard-setter is well on its way to heeding the G20’s call.

Microfinance Policy Forum for the Arab World

The Forum is a unique opportunity for officials from central banks and government ministries from across the Arab world to exchange experiences and knowledge with peers.

Branchless Banking: The Test and See Approach

When it comes to regulating branchless banking, some regulators believe they need to spend a lot of time and energy in developing a comprehensive framework. But putting in place extensive regulations without first observing and understanding how the market is developing can often result in a regulatory framework that is ill-tailored to the risks involved.