Credit Bureau for MFIs in Making (Oct 9th, 09):
Twenty five microfinance institutions have formed a trust called Alpha, which will put together a credit bureau called High Mark dedicated to the microfinance sector. Alpha is headed by Vijay Mahajan, chairman of BASIX, and P N Vasudevan managing director of Equitas Microfinance. These 25 MFI’s together constitute 70% of the total portfolio in the country. The non performing loans of MFIs are currently around 0.5-1.3% of their total disbursals.
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Microlending in India Continues Macro Growth (Oct 26th, 09):
Despite last year's global financial meltdown, the microfinance industry has continued to boom in India because of an influx of private equity and bank funding. Microlenders recorded a 60% increase in clients in India, to 22.6 million in the year ended March 31, 2009, from 14.1 million the previous year, according to a report from Access Development Services, a New Delhi-based non-profit serving the microfinance industry. At the current growth rate and with larger loan sizes, microlenders might outstrip the formal banking sector in lending volumes within a few years.  
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Omidyar Network Establishes New Entity In India (Oct 13th, 09):
Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm, announced it has established a new entity in India to expand the firm's level of investment in the rapidly growing economy. To date, the firm has invested more than $43 million in India by funding such organizations as the Rural Development Institute, a nonprofit that brings land rights to rural India; Quikr, the fastest-growing online classifieds company in India, and Unitus Equity Fund, which funds high-quality microfinance institutions in 19 of India's 28 states.
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High Domestic Funding Saves Indian MFIs From Meltdown: Study (Oct 18th, 09):
Indian microfinance sector, the largest microfinance market in Asia, escaped the full impact of global meltdown due to low dependence on external funding and efficient microfinance institutions, according to 'State of the Sector Report 2009', an annual study on microfinance brought out by Access Development Services, a not-for-profit company. While MFIs in several countries struggled to cover their operational costs such as in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Kenya, Indian MFIs with the lowest yield to gross portfolio manage to cover costs even on low average loan size.
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SKS Microfinance Gets ‘Highest Safety’ Rating (Oct 12th,09):
SKS Microfinance’s securitized portfolio worth Rs. 137 crore (Rs. 1,370 million) with YES Bank has been rated by Credit Analysis & Research Ltd. (CARE) as PR1+ SO (Highest Safety) rating. The Securitization enables YES Bank to purchase from SKS Microfinance 1,58,878 micro loans offered to Schedule Caste, Schedule Tribe and other minority sections of the society. Rated transactions of this kind accelerate capital access to MFIs and provide social benefits to the unbanked rural poor. The PR1+ SO (Highest safety) rating indicates the impeccable credit quality of the portfolio. Innovative funding solutions of this nature will help the sector to broad base its Sources mix and benefit from the concomitant ‘capital relief’
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Japan: IFC to Issue First Bond for Microfinance Programs (Oct 27th, 09):
The International Finance Corp, the World Bank's private-sector lender, seeks to raise $300 million through a bond issue targeted at Japanese investors to finance microfinance programs for the poor. The bond will be listed in Australian dollars and sales will be restricted to Japanese retail and institutional investors. It is the first time that the IFC will issue a bond to raise money to lend to commercially viable microfinance institutions which offer affordable small loans to the poor in developing countries.  
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Microcredit Program, South Korea's Experiment for Helping Low Income Earners (Oct 14th, 09):
South Korea's business-friendly government is strengthening support for its low-income citizens by devising its own measure of providing help. 

The South Korean government, through pushing for a policy that has both welfare and business-like dimensions, is widening economic opportunities for low-income households, who have once been denied access to capital by formal financial markets. The so-called Miso Credit Foundation, which means in Korean "Beautiful and Small," as well as "Smile," is the first-ever government-led microcredit lending program in the world. In total, the Miso Foundation plans to provide up to 2 trillion won (1.72 billion U.S, dollars) over the next 10 years.
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Pension funds turn to low-risk Microfinance (Oct 8th, 09):
Some of the world’s biggest pension funds have increased their investments in microfinance this year and expect to raise it further in the next few years. Analysts estimate that the microfinance industry in its entirety has somewhere between $30bn and $60bn in assets. Pension funds over the world have so far invested about $3bn, according to a report by the World Microfinance Forum in Geneva. The latest fund to lift its commitment is PGGM, manager of the €70bn ($103bn) Dutch healthcare industry pension fund, which is committing €200m to microfinance, making it one of the largest allocations to the sector. ABP, one of Europe’s biggest pension funds with about €180bn in assets, has invested $180m in microfinance and says it has raised its commitment by $40m this year.
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USAID Joins with Grameen Foundation to Launch Largest Guarantee in Program's History (Oct 19th, 09):
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Grameen Foundation announced a new collaboration that will make up to $162.5 million in local currency financing available to microfinance institutions (MFIs) throughout the developing world. The twelve-year program is the largest credit guarantee to date under USAID's Development Credit Authority and also marks the first time that a non-governmental organization has been approved to serve as facilitator. This alliance between USAID and Grameen Foundation offers a wider range of financing options to more MFIs in their local currencies from local commercial banks. An estimated 600,000 poor borrowers and their families could benefit from this partnership, ultimately impacting over three million lives.
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