Symbiotics NewsWatch #170, 2 August 2011

Aug. 02 The Microfinance Crisis: Is There a Way Out?
For the better part of nine months, the microfinance industry has been in paralysis because of restrictions put in place by the government of Andhra Pradesh, the state that was the center of micro-lending in India. Almost immediately, banks turned off the credit tap that allows microfinance lenders to operate, and borrowers abandoned the high repayment rates of the past and stopped paying.
Source: The Wall Street Journal Blog

Aug. 01 Cambodia; Microfinance up on agriculture advance
The Kingdom’s growing agricultural sector is leading to more loans and deposits at microfinance institutions.
Source: Phnom Penh Post

Aug. 01 Nigeria: Access to Banks - Country Lags Behind Botswana, Kenya
Nigeria lags behind South Africa, Botswana and Kenya in terms of the percentage of the population that are financially served, a research conducted by Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), has said.
Source: All Africa

Jul. 27 IFC, FMO Provide $30 Million to Support Housing Finance and Enterprises in Costa Rica
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will provide $30 million to Costa Rica’s National Cooperative of Educators, R.L. (Coopenae) to expand access to finance for housing and small and medium enterprises, which provide 38 percent of formal employment in the country. This is IFC’s first investment in a cooperative in Costa Rica.
Source: IFC

Jul. 27 India’s Oldest Microfinance Firm on the Verge of Closure
The controversial Andhra Pradesh microfinance law is set to claim its first victim. Vijay Mahajan-promoted Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Ltd (BSFL), India’s oldest microfinance institution (MFI), is collapsing under the burden of bad loans. With borrowers in Andhra Pradesh refusing to repay, bad loans are growing and threatening to wipe out its entire net worth and reserves.
Source: Livemint

Jul. 27 Yemen: Microfinance Sector in Trouble
In 2010, microfinance was one of the strongest business sectors in Yemen, and Yemen ranked first in the microfinance industry among the Arab countries. But the recent uprising has negatively affected this vital sector that serves tens of thousands of poor Yemenis.
Source: Yemen Times