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• GF Joins Call to Safeguard Microfinance Clients

  Published on November 25, 2008

  

  Grameen Foundation: Grameen Foundation joined 46 other organizations to support the launch of Microfinance Transparency at the Asia-Pacific Microcredit Summit, held in Bali, Indonesia, July 27-29. In a speech that became a keystone of the conference, Grameen Foundation board member Muhammad Yunus called for greater transparency by microfinance institutions, challenging lenders to publicly report interest rates and to set them no higher than that which will cover costs.

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  Category: External Media

  Tags: Consumer Protection, Pricing Initiative, Responsible Finance

• Is Transparent Pricing in Microfinance Necessary

  Published on November 13, 2008

  

  India Development Blog: Does it seem like the obvious response to this question should be a “Yes!”? An interesting point made by Sanjay Sinha (M-CRIL), at one of the Conference sessions, was how communication would play a key role in ensuring that increased transparency would not backfire on the MFIs.

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  Countries: India

  Category: External Media

  Tags: Consumer Protection, Responsible Finance

• MFTransparency presents at 2008 India Microfinance Summit

  Published on November 11, 2008

  

  In November 11-13, 2008 MFTransparency was the lead presenter at a session of the 2008 India Microfinance Summit. This was held in New Delhi. View Chuck Waterfield’s Presentation here.

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  Countries: India

  Category: Presentation

  Tags: Industry Event

• First MFTransparency endorsement in the Netherlands

  Published on November 7, 2008

  

  Oikocredit: On 4 October Oikocredit endorsed, as first Dutch-based organization, MicroFinance Transparency and announced a donation of € 20,000 in this initiative. MFTransparency’s mission is to be the venue for the microfinance industry to publicly demonstrate its commitment to pricing transparency, integrity and poverty alleviation.

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  Category: External Media

  Tags: Pricing Initiative, Responsible Finance

• Muhammad Yunus Joins Launch of Project to Help the World’s Poorest Borrowers Avoid High Interest Rat

  Published on August 16, 2008

  

  Smart Money: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus joined in announcing the launch of MicroFinance Transparency, a non-governmental organization designed to make public the interest rates charged by microcredit lenders around the world, offering a much-needed form of consumer protection to the world’s poorest borrowers.

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  Category: External Media

  Tags: Consumer Protection, MFT Event, Pricing Initiative, Responsible Finance

• Balancing Growth and Mission at the Microcredit Campaign Summit

  Published on August 14, 2008

  

  Unitus: An important area of interest for Unitus is increased financial transparency for MFIs and the clients they serve. During the opening plenary, Dr. Yunus and Chuck Waterfield of Microfin announced the launch of MFTransparency, an initiative that aims to bring truth-in-lending standards to microfinance by publishing standardized annual interest rates on its website. Unitus and nearly 45 other microfinance-related organizations endorsed the initiative as a critical next step in ensuring ethical lending practices.

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  Category: External Media

  Tags: Responsible Finance

• HOPE International endorses Microfinance Transparency

  Published on August 12, 2008

  

  Hope International: Lancaster, PA (August 4, 2008) HOPE International has announced its endorsement of MFTransparency.org, a new nonprofit organization created to encourage transparency, integrity, and poverty alleviation within the microfinance sector. HOPE was the first microfinance network to register its support for this new initiative that will prevent abuse of the microfinance sector and exploitation of the poor.

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  Category: External Media

  Tags: Consumer Protection, Pricing Initiative, Responsible Finance

• Micro-financiers track loan costs in developing world

  Published on August 12, 2008

  

  Vancouver Sun: Annual interest of 25, 50 or maybe 100-plus per cent: What’s fair? Where, exactly, should the line be drawn between loan-sharks and worthy micro-credit programs? Between enterprises that exploit poor people who can’t get conventional loans and those that help them?

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  Category: External Media

  Tags: Consumer Protection, Responsible Finance, Understanding Prices

• Truth in lending for microfinancers?

  Published on August 12, 2008

  

  Payday Pundit: Stung by allegations of charging high interest rates, Microfinancers are considering a “truth-in-lending” type standard to apply across the industry.

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  Category: External Media

  Tags: Responsible Finance

• Microfinance Experts Criticize Mexican Bank

  Published on August 12, 2008

  

  TheStreet: During a conference call Monday from the Asia-Pacific Microcredit Summit, several advocates chastised those who charge “loan-shark” interest rates and criticized Compartamos’ initial public offering last year. Microlending should be performed by banks and nonprofits that operate within the country, they say, and better oversight is needed to ensure competitive rates and ethical collection practices.

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  Category: External Media

  Tags: Understanding Prices