Searching: Research & Analysis

Stability of Small Balance Deposits

Small balance demand deposits from poor clients are viewed as a particularly volatile class of funding. This is one reason some MFIs are concerned about using deposits to fund their lending operations.

Are Deposits a Stable Source of Funding for Microfinance Institutions?

New research finds that under normal circumstances, aggregate balances for low-income accounts move gradually, and they are not prone to abrupt month-by-month swings.

Are Microcredit Interest Rates Excessive?

Over the past two decades, institutions that make microloans to low-income borrowers in developing and transition economies have focused increasingly on making their operations financially sustainable by charging interest rates that are high enough to cover all their costs.

Information Systems for Microfinance Institutions

This four-day course provides MFI managers with practical guidelines for developing and implementing information systems for MFIs.

Business Planning for Microfinance Institutions

The present version of the course includes sessions on financial modeling—namely, defining institutional mission, goals and objectives, understanding clients and markets, carrying out environmental and institutional assessments and designing a strategy.

Financial Analysis for Microfinance Institutions

Participants learn how to format financial statements for decision making, adjust for inflation and subsidies, measure portfolio quality, asset/liability management, efficiency and productivity and profitability and to choose strategies to reach sustainability.

Operational Risk Management for Microfinance Institutions

This four-day course helps microfinance institutions develop and improve the quality of their own risk management processes and focuses on problem prevention and early problem identification and control.

Accounting Principles for Microfinance Institutions

The Accounting course introduces MFI managers to the basics of accounting and how to create the most commonly used financial statements like the Balance Sheet, the Income Statement, and the Chart of Accounts.

Islamic Microfinance: An Emerging Market Niche

Islamic microfinance represents the confluence of two rapidly growing industries: microfinance and Islamic finance.

Variations in Microcredit Interest Rates

This Brief provides examples that show that the reasons for differences in interest rates can be manifold and often tend to be highly country specific.