Microfinance News Synopsis: AMCON should accommodate MFBs, Omeh

Microfinance Focus, July 28, 2010: Microfinance News Synopsis brings a compilation of industry headlines broadcasted by other news media from across the world.

AMCON should accommodate MFBs, Omeh: The National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB) has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to include its members in the operation of the newly introduced Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). Speaking at the inaugural meeting of its National Executive Council, NEC, which is made up of national executives, zonal and state chairmen, President of the association, Mr. Mathias Omeh, last Friday, said toxic assets also affects microfinance banks (MFBs) which AMCON could buy. According to Omeh, “Today marks the formation of the new NAMB, which is made up of three organs of national executives, zonal and state chairmen, who have been given our blueprint on the way forward. “With the conclusion of the examination that was carried out on MFBs, the CBN and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), know our debt portfolios [Vanguard]

A New Financial Access Frontier: Persons With Disabilities: Can a person with a disability living in a developing country become the valued client of a financial institution? According to Harvard Law professor Michael Stein, 650 million people around the world, nearly 10 percent of humanity, have a disability, and over 80 percent of these people live in developing countries. Yet, in research studies, fewer than 1 percent of the clients of microfinance institutions, dedicated to serving the world’s financially excluded people, were found to be persons with disabilities. One of the last great human rights struggles is only now starting to penetrate the world of low-income finance. In June, the Center for Financial Inclusion at ACCION, in conjunction with the Disability and Development team of the World Bank, brought disability activists together with leaders from microfinance in a roundtable entitled, “A New Financial Access Frontier: People with Disabilities” to begin [Huffington Post]

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