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 Founder of Hyderabad-based SKS Microfinance has been appointed as executive chairman of the company, said a company filing.
The posting will be effective from November 1 this year. The company’s board meeting held on Tuesday has passed resolutions to the effect, said a company filing with the National Stock Exchange.
Akula who was the founder of SKS Microfinance which raised huge funds in one of the largest public issues in the sector recently and was listed on the stock exchange on August 16.
SKS Microfinance has also announced the appointment of M R Rao, current Chief Operating Officer, as Deputy Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect. Suresh Gurumani will continue as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, said the filing.
SKS shares closed at Rs 1,260, down by 2.11 per cent on the NSE on Tusday.
Microfinance Monitor, Sept 7, 2010: The first microfinance organization in Vietnam was opened by Vietnam Women’s Union in Hanoi on August 25, said reports.
It was the first Vietnam’s microfinance body licensed by the State Bank of Vietnam. The limited liability company TYM will mobilize savings among the community, as well as capital sources from domestic and international financial institutions.
To be functional under the supervision of the State Bank of Vietnam, it will receive support from the government and is expected to meet requirements on quality control under the stipulated regulations.
The TYM has helped more than 80,000 women access basic financial services over the past 18 years under the Compassion Fund, which has about 50,000 members in Vietnam.
Microfinance Monitor, August 30, 2010: Nobel Peace Prize laureate and microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus will be presented the 2010 SolarWorld Einstein Award on September 6 in Spain.
The Bangladeshi professor of economics, founder of the Grameen Bank and Nobel laureate will receive the award in recognition of his breakthrough concept of micro-loans for the poor, which have helped millions of people worldwide to escape poverty.
The micro-loans have, among other things, made possible installations of more than 400,000 small solar power systems, securing energy supplies for people in rural regions of Bangladesh who live far from the national utility grid.
“Professor Yunus stands for radically new thinking in economics and banking. He has recognized the potential of the poorest of this world who manage to make a decent living on the basis of a small starting credit, a lot of creativity and the sun as the source of energy. This is more than exemplary,” explains Dr. Ing. h. c. Frank Asbeck, chairman and CEO of SolarWorld AG.
On the basis of micro-loans granted by banks held by the Grameen family since 1983, Yunus developed the concept of “social business,” which has inspired similar activity worldwide. This type of business does not strive to maximize profits and generate dividends but to solve social and ecological problems. Social business companies make available technologies for clean drinking water, affordable medication or inexpensive, clean energy.
The nonprofit company Grameen Shakti (GS), since its founding in 1996, has provided energy to off-grid rural regions of Bangladesh. With help from micro-loans, program recipients can obtain small off-grid solar power plants. This clean energy enables regional residents to work after dark, learn more in school and operate electric machines, radios and mobile phones. At the same time, it reduces climate and health hazards from kerosene lamps, said a statement.
The SolarWorld Einstein Award 2010 will be presented in a ceremony on the occasion of the 25th European Photovoltaic Conference in Valencia, Spain.
Microfinance Monitor, August 28, 2010:Barclays Bank India has launched a Rs. 5.46-crore microfinance initiative in partnership with Care International and Plan International, as part of its corporate social responsibility, said a press release.
Tagged ‘banking on change,’ this savings-led microfinance programme is being carried out by the leading British bank in 11 countries spanning Asia, Africa and South America, with a total budget of Rs. 70 crore.
The India-leg of the programme involves a payout of Rs. 5.46 crore over the next three years to Care International and Plan International, the bank said in a statement in Mumbai.
Announcing the launch of this CSR initiative, Barclays Corporate India Managing Director & Country Head Karan Bhagat said, “India is a fast maturing market with microfinance institutions spreading rapidly to reach out effectively to the lower income strata of the society.
Through the ‘banking on change programme’ we aim to provide access to financial services through authorised channels to these people, with a special focus on marginalised women”.
This partnership focuses on savings-led community finance initiatives which are effective in meeting the needs of the poor by providing them with a way to manage their money and increase their ability to deal with life emergencies.
The programme will be implemented in urban and semi-urban areas on the self-help group and joint liability model.
Microfinance Monitor, August 10, 2010: The benefits of loans provided to the poor in emerging countries can be far-reaching, says the latest Sector Focus commentary by financial-services analysts at Turner Investment Partners.
Turner, an investment firm based in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, said in its monthly Sector Focus commentary as part of the continuing efforts of its five analyst teams to monitor the market sectors for its growth-stock portfolios.
The paper, entitled “Microfinance does well by doing good,” was written by Pablo Echavarria, security analyst; David Honold, portfolio manager/security analyst; Mark Turner, president and senior portfolio manager; and Rick Wetmore, portfolio manager/security analyst. The authors believe that microfinance is “one of the most encouraging global economic and social developments in decades:” it empowers borrowers to improve their lives, especially the largest group of microfinance borrowers — rural women.
The authors call the small, short-term loans a “win-win situation.” Lenders benefit from high net-interest margins and above-average repayment rates, while borrowers who have been denied credit in the past are able to fund business ventures that may provide a way out of poverty.
As examples of success in microfinance, the authors identify three foreign banks that are leading microfinance lenders: Bank Rakyat of Indonesia, Compartamos Banco of Mexico, and Credicorp of Peru. In the last three years, these microfinance banks have increased their net income by 20%. They are part of a $60-billion industry that Turner thinks is likely to prosper for years to come.
As of June 30, 2010, Turner held in client accounts 5.7 million shares of Bank Rakyat, 41,651 shares of Mexican microfinance bank Compartamos Banco, and 3,066 shares of Credicorp.
The SKS Microfinance’s IPO, which was oversubscribed 13.69 times was fixed at at the highest band price of Rs 985, said the company.
SKS, India’s largest microfinance company, has now given the industry the required confidence to go public and reports say even Spandana Sphoorty Financial, the country’s second largest microfinance institution (MFI), will soon hit the market with its IPO.
Other MFIs in the race to go public are SHARE Microfin and Asmitha Microfin.
SKS Microfinance’s Rs 1,654-crore IPO was oversubscribed 20.38 times in the qualified institutional buyer category and in the category reserved for high net-worth individuals, it was oversubscribed by 18.26 times. In retail investors category it was oversubscribed by 2.81 times.
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