FG Supports Creation of Microfinance Development Fund

President Goodluck Jonathan has said that the Federal Government will back the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure that a Microfinance Development Fund is established in the country.

The President disclosed this while speaking in Abuja at the opening of the 5th Annual Microfinance Conference and Entrepreneurial Award themed, 'Financial Inclusion for Accelerated Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development: the Nigerian Perspective'. Read more

Related topic: Microfinance Development Fund will crash interest rates

PHILIPPINES: BSP allows rural, thrift banks to establish microbanking offices

Rural and thrift banks may establish microbanking offices (MBOs) in cities and municipalities where microfinance-oriented banking services are unavailable, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Friday.

The Monetary Board had allowed the establishment of MBOs to help banks extend the reach of their services in areas where it is economically unjustifiable to set up large-scale bank services, BSP Deputy Gov. Nestor Espenilla Jr. said.
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Nigeria's microfinance policy review underway

Nigeria's microfinance sector has failed to make the expected impact on the economy due to misconception by the operators, but this will soon change.

Lamido Sanusi, the Central Bank governor, said the bank will come up with a reviewed policy framework in order to make it more effective.

Akintunde Sowunmi, deputy director, development finance, who represented Mr. Sanusi at a conference organised by Credit Awareness yesterday in Lagos said less than three percent of the rural population of Nigeria have access to microfinance services.

Mr. Sowunmi said one of the challenges is to create awareness about credit acquisition in order to make more people interested in accessing it.

"Despite the importance and benefits of credit, there are socio-economic barriers inhibiting access to financial services such as education, gender, age, irregular income, poor infrastructure, and even geographical location," he said.
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Hints of the Subprime in New Microcredit

Enthusiasm for microfinance has surged since Professor Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

This November, APEC finance ministers will be asked to adopt an initiative on “financial inclusion” when they meet in Kyoto.

Unfortunately, this coincides with a wave of financialization of micro-lending, a phenomenon Yunus deplores. Read more