Clips

Innovations in Micro Finance: Field notes from Eastern Uttar Pradesh

A few colleagues and I recently travelled through Varanasi and Mirzapur in Eastern Uttar Pradesh visiting Micro Finance Institutions (MFI) in that region and their clients. I am delighted to report that this region, one of the poorest in India, is a hotbed of innovations.

http://www.ifmr.co.in/blog/2013/04/20/innovations-in-micro-finance-field-notes-from-eastern-uttar-pradesh/

Suggestions by FSLRC not to come in way of FCRA Bill

Recommendations of the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) to merge all financial market regulators in to one entity will not come in the way of clearing amendments in the Forward Contract Regulations Act amendment (FCRA) Bill.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/suggestions-by-fslrc-not-to-come-in-way-of-fcra-bill-113041901209_1.html

Banks told to submit financial inclusion plan for next three years

Banks have been asked to finalise their next three-year Financial Inclusion Plan for the 2013-16 period, according to Deepali Pant Joshi, Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/banking/banks-told-to-submit-financial-inclusion-plan-for-next-three-years/article4634041.ece?ref=wl_industry-and-economy

Insurance firms get serious on fake agents

Dealing with fraudulent agents has been one of the big issues for prospective and existing customers of insurance companies. And, insurance companies say they're active on the matter.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/finance/insurance-firms-get-serious-on-fake-agents-113042000002_1.html

Data: Enabling Country-led Actions to Address Financial Inclusion

Last year, the G20 leaders strengthened their commitment to measuring global and national financial inclusion efforts by endorsing a 'G20 Basic Set of Financial Inclusion Indicators' at the Los Cabos summit.

http://www.cgap.org/blog/data-enabling-country-led-actions-address-financial-inclusion

Girl Scouts Spearhead Financial Literacy Study

The majority of girls in the United States recognize the importance of money management and are interested in becoming financially empowered.

http://cfi-blog.org/2013/04/19/girl-scouts-spearhead-financial-literacy-study/

In Conversation with Economist Rohini Pande

Timothy Ogden and Economist Rohini Pande discuss how standard microcredit may undermine business investment in this FAI Video interview.

http://financialaccess.org/blog/2013/04/conversation-economist-rohini-pande

Clips

'Banking connectivity surges with BC mode'

Banking connectivity has jumped from about 67,000 villages in March 2010 to 211,000 villages in December 2012. The country has about 600,000 villages.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/finance/banking-connectivity-surges-with-bc-mode-113041801146_1.html

Can Mobile-Enabled Savings Products Bridge the Youth Financial Services Gap?

Many of the challenges to saving faced by the world's poorest people were highlighted in the recent Washington Post article "Microsavings Programs Build Wealth, Pennies at a Time."

http://cfi-blog.org/2013/04/18/can-mobile-enabled-savings-products-bridge-the-youth-financial-services-gap/

Islamic Microfinance And Clients: See What I Do, Not What I Say

A few years ago, while listening to a focus group of Muslim microfinance clients in Gaza, I heard something seemingly contradictory.

http://www.cgap.org/blog/islamic-microfinance-and-clients-see-what-i-do-not-what-i-say

Beyond GDP

ANNIVERSARIES are a good occasion to try something new. So when the Skoll World Forum, a big shindig for social entrepreneurs, celebrated its tenth anniversary in Oxford last week, it launched the Social Progress Index (SPI)—a new way to measure social progress that goes beyond the dominant metric of development, gross domestic product.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/feastandfamine/2013/04/social-progress

Clips

Beyond Profit: A Talk With Muhammad Yunus

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/beyond-profit-a-talk-with-muhammad-yunus/

From Financial Literacy to Financial Capabilities: Implications for Practitioners

In the United States, it is financial literacy month, but all the talk these days is of financial capability. Why? Is this another fad to make the topic of financial literacy a little more interesting?

http://cfi-blog.org/2013/04/17/from-financial-literacy-to-financial-capabilities-implications-for-practitioners/

Experiencing Human-Centered Design For The Base Of The Pyramid

Over the past 18 months, CGAP has worked in three countries with a variety of partners to generate demand-side insights and design innovative products that work better for low-income households.

http://www.cgap.org/blog/experiencing-human-centered-design-base-pyramid

Youth Financial Services: Changing the mindset

With an estimated 1.2 billion young people between the ages of 15 and 24, the vast majority of them living in developing countries, youth are both a policy and political priority for many countries around the world.

http://blogs.worldbank.org/youthink/node/3500

Clips

Interview with Justice Srikrishna, Chairman, FSLRC

http://www.ifmr.co.in/blog/2013/04/16/interview-with-justice-srikrishna-chairman-fslrc/

The outbreak that enabled urbanisation: London in "The Ghost Map"

"It is August 1854, and London is a city of scavengers."

http://financingcities.ifmr.co.in/blog/2013/04/16/the-outbreak-that-enabled-urbanisation-london-in-the-ghost-map/

Hurdles to new financial code

The draft Indian Financial Code puts consumer protection at the heart of the financial system.

http://www.livemint.com/Money/nkpAhAcZpmFuIBgc9hd8IO/Hurdles-to-new-financial-code.html

RBI will introduce plastic notes on trial basis: Chakrabarty

Reserve Bank of India plans to introduce plastic notes on a trial basis, according to K.C. Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/banking/rbi-will-introduce-plastic-notes-on-trial-basis-chakrabarty/article4623913.ece?ref=wl_industry-and-economy

Time SEBI got more teeth

So, you can be a college-mate-turned-confidante of the chairman of a conglomerate, his advisor for new ventures, director in his companies and still buy shares of a group company just days before it makes a major announcement without fear of being called an 'insider'.

http://www.thehindu.com/business/time-sebi-got-more-teeth/article4617434.ece

Does "Effective Interoperability" Equal Financial Inclusion?

In the work CGAP and Bankable Frontier Associates (BFA) did on Pakistan last year, we identified a way to measure progress on interoperability in retail payments in a country.

http://www.cgap.org/blog/does-%E2%80%9Ceffective-interoperability%E2%80%9D-equal-financial-inclusion

Silos No More: Financial Inclusion for the Whole Value Chain

Financial services and enterprise development practitioners often exist in their own separate silos—yet very poor producers need both increased access to markets and financial services in order to increase resilience and economic well-being.

http://cfi-blog.org/2013/04/16/silos-no-more-financial-inclusion-for-the-whole-value-chain/

The World's Three-Speed Economic Recovery

The main theme of our latest outlook is one that you have now heard for a few days: we have moved from a two-speed recovery to a three-speed recovery.

http://blog-imfdirect.imf.org/2013/04/16/the-worlds-three-speed-economic-recovery/

Researchers Finally Replicated Reinhart-Rogoff, and There Are Serious Problems.

In 2010, economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff released a paper, "Growth in a Time of Debt." Their "main result is that...median growth rates for countries with public debt over 90 percent of GDP are roughly one percent lower than otherwise; average (mean) growth rates are several percent lower." Countries with debt-to-GDP ratios above 90 percent have a slightly negative average growth rate, in fact.

http://www.nextnewdeal.net/rortybomb/researchers-finally-replicated-reinhart-rogoff-and-there-are-serious-problems

Clips

The March Phenomenon in Agricultural Lending

The Task Force on Credit Related Issues of Farmers, chaired by Umesh Chandra Sarangi, in its report submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, in 2010, observes that while month-wise credit disbursement patterns should have been in line with ground level requirements of kharif (June, July, September) and rabi (December, January), one-fourth of the disbursements instead happen in March, a month that is not critical to agriculture production.

http://www.ifmr.co.in/blog/2013/04/04/the-march-phenomenon-in-agricultural-lending/

Govt shouldn't dictate delivery of mandate, says Subbarao

When it comes to speaking his mind on the independence of central banks, Reserve Bank of India Governor D Subbarao doesn't mince his words.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/govt-shouldnt-dictate-delivery-of-mandate-says-subbarao/1097918/

New Insights From the Field on the Value of Life Microinsurance

Is there a business case for microinsurance? Does it provide value for clients?

http://cfi-blog.org/2013/04/04/new-insights-from-the-field-on-the-value-of-life-microinsurance/

Beyond Business: Rethinking Microfinance

In just 30 years, the microfinance movement has reached 200 million people who had been deemed "unbankable." That's a stunning success. But the narrative that drove this success has implicitly shut the vast majority of the unbanked out of the system.

http://financialaccess.org/blog/2013/04/beyond-business-rethinking-microfinance

Clips

FSLRC and consumer protection

Late last week, the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission, or FSLRC, released its two-volume report. In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, financial regulation, especially consumer financial protection, has undergone significant changes.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/fslrc-and-consumer-protection-113033100300_1.html

FSLRC for financial law review every 3 years

The Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) has proposed that financial sector laws be reviewed every three years. It has also suggested judicial review of regulations in its report released last week.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/fslrc-for-financial-law-review-every-3-years-113033100081_1.html

Srikrishna panel's report moots a unified regulator, but falls short on banks, says Dhirendra Kumar, Value Research

Last week, the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) came out with its report. Back in March 2011, this commission had been tasked with examining the regulatory structure and the laws governing the financial sector.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/guest-writer/srikrishna-panels-report-moots-a-unified-regulator-but-falls-short-on-banks-says-dhirendra-kumar-value-research/articleshow/19315668.cms

RBI set to unveil new norms for credit co-ops

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to come out with new guidelines for credit cooperatives which are seen to be the weak link in chain when it comes to implementing anti-money laundering measures.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/RBI-set-to-unveil-new-norms-for-credit-co-ops/articleshow/19315345.cms

A sea change in the knowledge of the young in India

In 1887, roughly 14 million children were born in India, and we got one Ramanujan. It seems reasonable to think that there were 9 others who went undiscovered.

http://ajayshahblog.blogspot.in/2013/03/a-sea-change-in-knowledge-of-young-in.html

Clips

Banks in TN take total deposit of Rs 4.11 lakh cr till Dec 12

The state has surpassed the national norm of 40% in share of priority sector advances, at 43.17%

http://www.business-standard.com/article/finance/banks-in-tn-take-total-deposit-of-rs-4-11-lakh-cr-till-dec-12-113032700241_1.html

Banks make progress, but more challenges lie ahead

The villages in India are witnessing a flurry of activity, thanks to the financial inclusion initiatives of banks.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/features/banks-make-progress-but-more-challenges-lie-ahead/article4551583.ece

Creating an Ecosystem for Sustainable Financial Inclusion through Community Institutions

Bihar, a state in Eastern India has more than 100 million inhabitants and is India's second poorest state. Ninety percent of the population lives in rural areas and the state has lagged behind in increasing access to finance in these areas.

http://blogs.worldbank.org/endpovertyinsouthasia/creating-ecosystem-sustainable-financial-inclusion-through-community-institutions

Are Youth-Inclusive Financial Services in MENA a Driver of Financial inclusion?

Last week, I participated in a Youth Financial Inclusion workshop for the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region, organized by Silatech and CGAP.

http://cfi-blog.org/2013/03/27/are-youth-inclusive-financial-services-in-mena-a-driver-of-financial-inclusion/

Worse than AP: The Damage of a Repayment Crisis in Chiapas

A month ago I wrote a post singling out the Mexican state of Chiapas as a potential site of a coming repayment crisis. No, this is not a follow-up announcing that it has begun, nor am I rooting for one to start.

http://financialaccess.org/blog/2013/03/worse-ap-damage-repayment-crisis-chiapas

Europe: No Need To Worry, The Fire's Downstairs

Jeroen Dijsselbloem has been pilloried for his remarks following the conclusion of a deal with Cyprus. But is the assault just self-interested finance apologists (like, presumably, me) appalled at having their snouts removed from the public trough? Or are digs about his qualifications proving justified?

http://pawelmorski.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/europe-no-need-to-worry-the-fires-downstairs/

Markets in almost nothing

One of the first things I noticed when I started studying economics was that goods that can't be bought and sold are basically ignored. That might be fine for determining prices of stuff (especially if people have quasilinear utility), but when you have massively incomplete markets, the basic big results of first-year microeconomics - the welfare theorems - go totally out the window.

http://noahpinionblog.blogspot.in/2013/03/markets-in-almost-nothing.html