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> Posted by Kelley Mesa
The six core values at Compartamos.
What does it take to bring an organization together around a new Code of Ethics? Compartamos Banco found out just what it takes when they launched a formal code and sought to live and breathe it in every aspect of the organization.
Ethical staff behavior begins at the top of an institution, with a commitment from senior management. When this commitment is successfully integrated in the institution’s strategy and systems, it permeates the institution. How the institution treats its staff and builds its culture directly affects how the staff live the institution’s values and treat their clients.
In 2004 Compartamos Banco established a formal Code of Ethics, built around a set of six institutional values, including Responsibility, Passion, Profitability, Teamwork, and Service. At the core of these values is the Person and the idea that each person, whether an employee or a client, is valuable to an integrated whole. Shortly after establishing a code of ethics, Compartamos created a department to review, monitor, and institutionalize the code throughout the institution. As a result, the bank’s emphasis on ethical behavior is evident throughout the institution.
Learn more in the latest Smart Note from The Smart Campaign »
> Posted by Kelley Mesa
The Smart Campaign’s “Getting Started Questionnaire: Client Protection Self Assessments for Microfinance Institutions” is now available in English, Spanish, French, and Russian.
Download the tool here »
The Getting Started Questionnaire helps microfinance institutions begin to investigate their client protection practices within their organization. Once an institution has received an introduction to the work of the campaign and client protection principles, answering this Questionnaire is the logical next step. The questionnaire is structured around the Client Protection Principles, each of which is accompanied by a list of statements about the institution’s practices on that principle. Learn more »
> Posted by Sergio Guzmán
In November of 2009, we reported that the microfinance industry in Nicaragua is under siege by a politically motivated group of borrowers. Calling themselves “No Payment Movement,” they pressured the government to lower their interest rates, suspend debt recovery trials, and grant grace periods on repayment. On February 24th, 87 out of 92 members of the National Assembly voted to order microfinance companies to sit down with their delinquent borrowers and renegotiate all loans past due since June 30, 2009; microfinance companies were also ordered to suspend asset seizures and trials. Furthermore, the assembly has instituted interest rate caps of 16% per annum on all renegotiated loans. President Ortega has not yet signed the bill, which is a requirement before it becomes into Law, however it is expected that he will.
The Microfinance Association of Nicaragua, ASOMIF, had, in numerous occasions, voiced its opposition to the law, saying that it would institute a culture of non-payment that is bad for both the country and for individual borrowers. Such a culture could make foreign investors wary of Nicaraguan deals, withholding financing for MFIs serving as many as 450,000 clients in good standing. Read the rest of this entry »
> Posted by Elisabeth Rhyne
Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak at an event I never expected to connect with – the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. This professional group, representing over 100,000 engineers of all kinds, is looking at how their profession can make a difference for people at the base of the pyramid around the world. They were surprisingly eager to learn from and maybe even connect with microfinance. The lessons I shared from Energy Links seemed to resonate with many people in the group. Great physical design is what engineers pride themselves on, but great design only has impact if it is embedded in deep market understanding, a sustainable business model, and a scalable supply chain – all of which suggest the possibly obvious point that cross-discipline cooperation is needed to solve problems.
Newly minted engineers are especially eager to make a difference, and they represent tremendous talent resources for development projects. In addition to renewable energy, I talked with people working on access for people with disabilities, on water, and on low-cost health care. The excitement of these folks was contagious. You can follow them on Twitter. The event is the Engineering for the Developing World Summit, and you can follow Twitter tweets through the topic #EDWS.
> Posted by David Levaï
Unpacking Solar Kits in Mali
We are pleased to announce that today, on March 15th, the Center’s Energy Links Project received its first batch of 400 Solar Kits delivered to Bamako, Mali, and that distribution operations are beginning as we speak. This milestone comes at the heels of a year of efforts in identifying the right partners to establish a commercial venture and play the roles of importer and distributors. Energy Links has recently entered an agreement with HORONYA, a leading importer of solar material in Mali. The fifteen year-old company that had the desire to make solar solutions available to poor Malian households and it will be supported in this endeavor by a range of MFIs and NGOs with a network of savings groups as its retail channel, in particular to reach remote rural areas and off-grid households. Read the rest of this entry »
> Posted by Sergio Guzmán
Things at the Center have been going at lightning speed lately with the launch of the new Smart Campaign website and our other activities. That has left me with some backlog; I apologize to the readers for not bringing up the issue I discussed in previous posts, regarding my complaint to ALICO (AIG Life Insurance). You can read more about it here and here.
On November I received a response from the Defensor del Cliente, an external party to the insurance company that acts like an ombudsman to consumers of financial services. This response was a formal decision that was made regarding the complaint. In this case, my inconformity with the way my private information was said to be handled.
In their decision, the Defensor del Cliente ruled that AIG in fact did not explain properly the way it would handle my information and that the mistake was on the part of the insurance officer. At the same time, the Defensor also summarized the company’s rebuttal to my claims stating that any information that I provide them would be treated under the current banking secrecy laws and that in no way it will be sold to third parties, which was my main concern. Having said this, the Defensor ruled that ALICO complied properly with the rules established by the financial superintendence. You can read the entire ruling (In Spanish) in this linked PDF. Read the rest of this entry »
> Posted by Kelley Mesa
Where did microfinance come from? How do lending ethically get their small loans repaid? Elisabeth Rhyne, Center for Financial Inclusion managing director, answers these and other questions during two interviews with Forbes.com Video Network.
Watch them interviews…
Repaying Micro-Loans | Video
Origins Of Microfinance | Video
For more information, sign up for updates from the Financial Inclusion 2020 campaign.
> Posted by Kelley Mesa
It’s National Consumer Protection Week in the United States, and in line with that mission to promote consumer rights, we are happy to launch the new www.smartcampaign.org – the new, international, online headquarters of The Smart Campaign.
On www.smartcampaign.org, you’ll find…
- Tools for microfinance organizations and others, like the “Getting Started Questionnaire” for microfinance institutions to assess their current client protection practices;
- A place to collect client protection tools from the field to enhance the collective knowledge of our entire community;
- Opportunities to tell your colleagues about the Campaign; and
- The first in a series of “Smart Notes,” Campaign publications highlighting best practices from other microfinance institutions, networks, and associations.
Enjoy!
> Posted by Emily Leeding
Congratulations to Center for Financial Inclusion Faculty Council Members Bhagwan Chowdhry and Paul Hudnut on the Financial Access@Birth (FAB) Campaign. The Campaign is aimed at giving every newborn worldwide a bank account- another innovative way of promoting financial inclusion.
Read all about it in this week’s issue of The Economist: “A FAB idea: Should every child receive a bank account at birth?”
> Posted by Kelley Mesa
Personal interests are often at stake as microfinance institutions transform from nonprofit to commercial entities. In its latest interview, Microfinance Gateway speaks with Center for Financial Inclusion Managing Director Elisabeth Rhyne on the new paper “Aligning Interests” that challenges the microfinance industry to openly discuss these human stumbling blocks.
Click here for the interview >
Click here for the Aligning Interests paper >
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