Banks ready with MFI loan rejig plan
Banks have prepared a blueprint for restructuring loans to microfinance institutions (MFIs). According to the proposal, institutions like SKS Microfinance, Spandana Spoorthy, Asmita, Basixs, and Share Micro Finance would be given a maximum of 10 years to repay the loans at an interest rate of 12%. TOI
Bihar eyes legislation for MFIs
Bihar government was mulling a proposal to enact legislation on the pattern of Andhra Pradesh to regulate and have effective control over Micro Finance Companies in the state. ET
Banks ask MFIs to replace weak collateral with assets
With deterioration in the loan portfolio quality of some microfinance institutions, banks have asked MFIs to replace weak collateral with better-quality assets to hedge the risks. This issue is especially pertinent to loan portfolios in Andhra Pradesh. BS
Andhra Pradesh gives more teeth to the MFI Act
Even as microfinance institutions are seeking withdrawal of the Andhra Pradesh Microfinance (Money-lending) Regulation Act, the State Government has further broadened its scope. HBL
Interview with Roshaneh Zafar, founder Kashf Foundation Pakistan
Roshan Zafar started a microfinance organization called the Kashf Foundation in Pakistan to help women out of poverty. With the mentoring help and a US$10,000 loan from Dr. Mohammed Yunus, founder of the Grameen Foundation in Bangladesh. Wharton
How India’s banks killed the future of Commerce
By the RBI mandate, as of February 1, 2011, two-factor authentication is required for all mobile-based transactions. In compliance, we switched our mobile web payments to two-factor authentication on February 1. Here’s what happened to our daily mobile transaction volumes that day. Cleartrip
Credit flow to SHGs set to touch Rs 11,000 Cr
Though lending by microfinance institutions in Andhra Pradesh has suffered a setback due to the recent controversies, credit flow into rural areas through the self-help group (SHG)-bank linkage is quite intact and set to grow further in 2011-12. ET
NABARD to get Rs 3,000 crore capital infusion
In a bid to expand credit flows to the farm sector, the government has proposed to infuse Rs 3,000 crore in National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). ET
Microfinance Leaders Strive to Walk the Walk
Vijay Mahajan, the founder of the microfinance institution BASIX, and widely regarded as the dean of Indian microfinance, is walking the hot and dusty roads of rural India in his kurta pajama and sandals, and as he’s walking he’s thinking about the microfinance industry’s tough year. HuffPost
Nobel laureate economist Yunus may be a victim of petty jealousy
The popular pioneer who was ousted from Grameen Bank, a microfinance institution, maybe too successful for others’ liking in Bangladesh, where things, or vindictiveness, is a hallmark of national politics. LATimes
MFIs get fund crunch jitters after Yunus exit
The ouster of Bangladesh-based Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus has come as yet another jolt to microfinance companies in India, which are reeling under a severe fund crunch and intense scrutiny of their operations. FC
Is microfinance a neoliberal fairytale?
Critics of microcredit make some convincing arguments that need urgent rebuttal from the organizations that have plowed huge sums into it. Guardian
This is the fourth installment of the weekly News Digest (ND4). The News Digest comprises news summaries, press releases, and important statements related to microfinance, banking, financial services, and financial inclusion in India.
Read previous News Digests here
