Microfinance News Synopsis: Nabard to set up rural credit bureaus

Microfinance Focus, June 14, 2010: Microfinance News Synopsis brings a compilation of industry headlines broadcasted by other news media from across the world.

Nabard to set up rural credit bureaus: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) is to promote rural credit bureaus on the line of the Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd to help the flow of credit to the rural sector. Dr K.G. Karmakar, Managing Director of Nabard, told newspersons on the sidelines of the ‘Outreach 2010′ seminar that the details were being worked out. The seminar on financial inclusion was organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry. “Just as CIBIL is repository of information on commercial and consumer borrowers, the proposed bureau should maintain information on rural borrowers,” Mr Karmakar observed. “There could one bureau in each State with network extending to the district level” [iStockAnalyst]

Reliance Venture plans to invest $30m in ancillary businesses: Reliance Venture Asset Management, the private equity arm of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, plans to invest between $25 and $30 million (approximately Rs 117-140 crore) in the next six months, after making an equal investment in the past three months, Harshal J Shah, chief executive, Reliance Ventures told ET. While group companies such as Reliance Communications may be strapped for cash due to high debt, Mr Shah said there is no issue with liquidity for private equity investment. The company just made its third investment since April in a microfinance technology solutions company Gradatim IT Ventures. A person familiar with the deal said Reliance Venture has invested $7-9 million [Economic Times]

Microfinance industry eyes 11 crore borrowers by 2014: The Indian micro finance industry (MFI) would cross 11 crore borrowers and Rs 135,000 crore ($30 billion) in loan portfolio by 2014 and will require a huge capital inflow both in debt and equity, according to a latest report by Intellecap. The report said that the growth is expected to come from underserved states that are witnessing a flurry of activity, and also from a range of new financial and non-financial products that are being introduced in the sector. The third edition of Intellecap’s annual publication on the Indian microfinance sector titled Indian Microfinance: Coming of Age draws data from 29 MFIs that constitute 80 per cent of the market by portfolio outstanding [Financial Chronicle]

ARB Bank boss stresses need to deepen microfinance: Mr. Eric Osei-Bonsu, Managing Director of ARB the Apex Bank Limited, has suggested the enforcement of quality human resource and incentive policies to enable rural and community banks (RCBs) to deepen microfinance for rural development. He said RCBs need to reposition themselves to offer efficient and effective services to prevent client loss and improve the impact and image of rural banking. The managing director was addressing the opening of the 9th managers’ conference of the ARB Apex Bank Limited and RCBs in Sunyani. The three-day conference, is under the theme, “Deepening Microfinance to serve the rural economy – The role of Rural and Community Banks [Ghana Web]

Andhra Bank to set up financial literacy centre in Ganjam: As a part of its endeavour to educate the rural people on various banking services, Andhra Bank has proposed to set up a Financial Literacy and Credit Counselling Centre (FLCC) in south Orissa’s Ganjam district.The bank has already set up FLCCs in the four districts of Andhra Pradesh, where it has the lead bank responsibility. “Andhra Bank is the lead bank in south Orissa’s Ganjam and Gajapati districts and it has proposed to establish FLCC in Ganjam to educate rural people in the district about the banking services”, said a senior officer of the bank. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has stressed on the financial literacy among the rural people to bring them under the purview of banking services [Business Standard]

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