Regulating Microfinance

According to Reuters, India is planning to introduce legislation to regulate microfinance. Microlending organizations in the country have recently been accused of using coercive practices to collect repayments.

The microfinance sector in India is on the verge of collapse- it seems like the sector has been charging ridiculous amounts of interest, which have contributed to the accumulation of debts. The sector is currently unregulated.

It's important to note that these seem to be for-profit MFIs...

UPDATE: Here's another Reuters story that goes into more depth.

Kiva now includes student loans?

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this!

As fall rolls around, we have a back-to-school special to share: Kiva is now offering student loans to students in Bolivia, Paraguay, and Lebanon.

This is a natural expansion of our mission to help alleviate poverty through lending, and it's just the first step. In the coming months, we'll be expanding beyond the current three countries and into markets where student lending doesn't even exist.

Delinquency Rates

Kiva has announced a new way of calculating its delinquency rates.