Small is beautiful,but growth is inevitable: experiences of apex institutions in Senegal and Tanzania

This article examines the experiences of two national apex institutions in two sub-Saharan African countries, Senegal and Tanzania, which channel funds to retail microfinance institutions (MFIs). These two national apexes are the Dyna-Enterprises Project and the Small Entrepreneurs Loan Facility (SELF) project, which are functioning in Senegal and Tanzania respectively. Both Dyna and SELF initially started as small-scale apex MFIs and had been conceived with the same vision in mind – facilitation of access to financial services for the poor. The initial implementation focused on provision of credit through MFIs as well as capacity building. The targeted groups of clients are similar, i.e. the disadvantaged, and mostly are women groups in urban or peri-urban areas carrying out general petty trade activities. Like many apex institutions in sub-Saharan Africa, both SELF and Dyna have stimulated demand for more financial support to the poor and have shown potential to be transformed into viable commercial MFIs. This entails expansion in terms of increased number of staff, branches, cost-effective microfinance services, the number and quality of financial products, capacity building, outreach and information services. The current vision of these national apex institutions is to transform into effective, transparent and efficient corporate entities for addressing poverty issues through harnessing and targeting funds to needy areas, while incorporating microfinance best practices.     

Financial Liberalization and Corporate Investments: Evidence from Korean Firm Data*

This paper examines whether financial liberalization procedures introduced in Korea in the early 1990s succeeded in relaxing financing constraints on firms. Because external funds are more costly than internal funds in an imperfect capital market, corporate investments depend on the availability of internal funds. As financial liberalization mitigates constraints on firms, the sensitivity of investments to cash flow can be reduced. Using panel data on Korean firms, we found that cash‐flow effects on investment spending decreased drastically during the liberalization period. In particular, small, non‐chaebol and established firms that were severely constrained gained most from liberalization. Chaebol firms appeared to lose preferential access to credit after liberalization.     

公司治理对小额贷款公司绩效影响的实证研究

文章依据公司治理理论,采用安徽省150家小额贷款公司2010-2012年的调查数据,应用面板数据模型随机效应估计方法,实证分析公司治理对小额贷款公司绩效的影响。实证结果显示,公司治理对小额贷款公司的财务可持续性影响较大,独立董事比例、女性董事、外部审计等与财务可持续性呈显著正相关,董事会规模也具有显著正向的影响。此外,公司治理对覆盖力的影响相对较小,只有公司规模和CEO/董事会主席的二元性两个因素对其有显著影响。     

Scope economies from rural and urban microfinance services

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) operate in both rural and urban credit markets and provide financial services to the poor not served by commercial banks. MFIs must keep operating costs low to better serve their clients. We evaluate whether MFIs can lower their costs by exploiting economies of diversification from serving both rural and urban markets rather than specializing in only one. We apply a novel method to estimate scope economies that minimizes the well-known “excessive extrapolation” and accommodates MFIs' heterogeneity. Analyzing panel data on MFIs from 105 countries over 2008–2018, we find that about half of loan-only MFIs benefited from diversification and enjoyed scope economies of 16.6% while over two thirds of savings-and-loan MFIs experienced scope diseconomies of 11.7% suggesting advantages from specialization. Over time, the declining magnitudes and the prevalence of scope (dis)economies in both groups suggest that loan-only MFIs have been able to serve costlier marginal clients while savings-and-loan MFIs have been learning and decreasing their scope diseconomies. Stakeholders encouraging the transformation of MFIs into regulated savings-and-loan institutions that serve both rural and urban markets should be aware of the presence of scope diseconomies for that business type and offer adequate support.     

科技型小微企业融资难及金融支持——基于微型金融的视角

从融资难的实质来看,我国科技型小微企业融资难的原因在于现行金融体系对科技型小微企业的天然排斥。微型金融适应科技型小微企业的融资需求,能够有效解决科技型小微企业融资难题。文章基于微型金融模式的运行,金融支持科技型小微企业发展需要构建微型金融市场、微型金融服务、微型金融政策三者相结合的微型金融体系。     

Modalities of Microfinance Delivery in Asia and Latin America： Lessons for China

I. Introduction Microfinance, the provision of small size loans and other financial services to low income households, is often seen as the key innovation of the last 25 years in terms of means of reaching out to the poor and vulnerable. There is extensive experience in microfinanceprovision in both Asia and Latin America, but as yet relatively little use of the approach in China. In Section, this paper assesses different approaches to microfinance delivery using a simple threefold distincti…     

出口固定成本、融资约束与中国企业出口参与

本文基于新新贸易理论和中国企业面临融资约束的现实,建立离散动态出口模型,发现克服出口固定成本和缓解融资约束可以促进企业出口参与。进而运用2004～2008年中国七十余万家制造业企业数据,从内源融资、银行信贷和商业信贷3个维度衡量融资约束,实证检验理论分析。结果发现,克服出口固定成本是企业参与出口的关键,商业信贷对企业出口参与贡献最大,银行信贷次之,内源融资贡献最小。细化样本后发现,克服出口固定成本仍然是出口的关键,但是,无内源融资企业较之有内源融资企业,内资企业较之外资企业,出口融资都更多依赖商业信贷和银行信贷;国有企业出口融资更多依赖银行信贷,而民营企业更多依赖商业信贷。变化融资约束衡量方法后,结果依然稳健。     

Impact assessment of microfinance programmes,including lessons from Khula Enterprise Finance

This article discusses approaches to impact assessment of microfinance programmes through a survey of empirical literature and findings of an impact study of Khula Enterprise Finance, a South African wholesale finance institution that facilitates access to financial services by small, medium and microenterprises. The article notes that impact assessment has now opened up to the needs of a mix of stakeholders and a wide range of purposes. There has been a shift from a donor-driven approach to a practitioner-led approach that emphasises learning and improving practice. Nevertheless, findings of an impact study of Khula Enterprise Finance, a characteristically donor-driven type of study, indicate a positive impact on the beneficiaries of microfinance, especially women in rural areas where they are specifically targeted. Furthermore, the impact study shows that lower-income communities in rural areas have benefited less than their not-so-poor counterparts in the urban areas, an observation that is consistent with findings in other studies.     

Borrower Targeting under Microfinance Competition with Motivated Microfinance Institutions and Strategic Complementarity

We examine how increased competition among motivated microfinance institutions (MFIs) impacts the poorest borrowers' access to microfinance. We find that competition depends on inequality, technology, and the possibility of double‐dipping (borrowing from several sources). Without competition, even a motivated MFI may lend to the not‐so‐poor in preference to poor borrowers. If double‐dipping is feasible, competition may encourage lending to the poor. The presence of double‐dipping is critical for MFI competition to have a positive effect. When double‐dipping is feasible, MFI coordination may worsen borrower targeting whenever inequality is intermediate. We discuss policy implications dealing with double‐dipping, MFI coordination, and competition.     

农户小额信贷风险:表现、成因与应对策略

农村信用社农户小额信贷是我国小额信贷的主流,该信贷制度目前面临的突出问题之一就是农户的还贷率低、信贷风险日益增大。导致这一问题的表层原因是农业生产中不可避免的自然风险、小农户对市场变化缺乏灵活反应的市场风险以及农户的道德风险和信用社的逆向选择,而深层次原因     

对建立小额信贷与农业保险联动机制的探索

2009年中央"一号文件"中明确提出"探索建立农村信贷与农业保险相结合的银保互动机制。小额信贷、农业保险是"三农"建设的主力军,而银保互动机制可以促进农村经济深度发展。本文结合国际经验,通过分析我国小额信贷与农业保险联动机制现状,找出我国该项目中存在的问题,并提出相应建议。     

微型金融机构使命偏移研究

文章针对微型金融机构在商业化进程中出现的“使命偏移”现象,以及由此引发的关于商业化和减贫目标如何实现双赢的争论,试图回答使命偏移产生的原因；使命偏移判断的标准.运用扩展的信贷配给模型阐释交易费用在使命偏移现象中的作用,然后对世界其他地区以及中国云南的使命偏移现象进行分析,说明仅用平均贷款规模来判断使命偏移是不够的,还需要其他信息,最主要的是微型金融机构是否触及最贫困人口.     

标准小额信贷：理论、问题与对策

标准小额信贷及其成功经验已被世界各国普遍接受。作为一种有效的扶贫模式，它能在一定程度上解决逆向选择问题、降低道德风险、防范违约风险并实现贷款的可持续发展。然而，标准小额信贷在实践中，还存在着最穷的人贷不到款、联保小组制度不合理、失信问题严童、贷款效率低下、配套服务不到位等问题。因此，如何保证信誉好、最穷的人贷到款，如何设计合理的联保小组制度，如何营造良好的信用环境，如何提高贷款效率及如何健全服务体系，实现小额信贷的可持续发展就成了解决问题的关键。     

农村公益性小额信贷现状研究——基于贫困户需求视角的分析

文章基于对山东省嘉祥县3个乡镇(卧龙山镇、大张楼镇、马村镇)小额信贷情况的农户调查数据,从需求视角出发,分析得出小额信贷需求的影响因素和贫困农户需求不足的原因。发现以扶贫为设计初衷的农村小额信贷项目实际参与对象已从中、低收入贫困户转向进行非农生产性经营的中等偏上收入户和高收入农户,并且生产性小额信贷资金多被农户用于消费性支出。最后,文章尝试提出了一些公益性小额信贷的新思路和新模式。     

Financial performance and corporate governance in microfinance: Evidence from Asia

Good corporate governance is considered a building block of success for microfinance institutions (MFIs) as it is presumed to help them in achieving their social and financial goals. This paper analyzes the corporate governance and financial performance relationship for MFIs in Asia. We make use of a panel dataset involving 173 MFIs in 18 Asian countries for the period 2007–2011. We construct a corporate governance index based on seven measures pertaining to board size and composition, CEO characteristics, and ownership type. We then estimate the two-way relationship between this index and each of five different financial performance indicators. To address the likely simultaneity between corporate governance and financial performance, we adopt a two-stage least squares estimation approach with instrumental variables. Our results confirm the endogenous nature of corporate governance and financial performance. We conclude that profitability and sustainability of MFIs improve with good governance practices and conversely that more profitable and sustainable MFIs have better governance systems.     

国际小额信贷发展的经验及启示

小额信贷是一种有效的金融扶贫方式。通过对福利主义小额信贷模式和制度主义小额信贷模式的比较,揭示国际小额信贷发展的制度主义倾向及其成功经验。分析我国小额信贷的实践并对其进行总体评价,最后指出国际成功小额信贷对我国的启示。     

论政府在小额信贷发展中的作用

小额信贷作为一种有效的金融扶贫方式,在我国已有二十几年的发展历史。然而由于政府注重小额信贷业务的扶贫效应,致使我国的小额信贷过于倾向于福利主义。本文论述了政府在小额信贷发展中的角色与作用,即尽量减少行政干预,在政策上予以支持,协调部门关系,为小额信贷创造宽松的环境。     

农村信用社农户小额信贷融资制度的效率：一个分析框架

在新制度经济学的分析框架内,重新构造制度效率评价的理论模型,提出农村信用社农户小额信贷制度效率的评价指标体系,并对该制度效率进行测评。结果表明,我国农户小额信贷制度的效率正在逐渐提高,但各地的差异较大,与经济发展水平无关;农户小额信贷制度效率仍存在较大的改进空间,改进的核心在于交易成本的降低和农业风险控制制度的建立和完善。     

Lessons learnt from Nkwe Enterprise Finance

Nkwe Enterprise Finance, a financial service to fund microenterprises in the North West province, suspended its operations after just over two years of lending. This happened against the background of three significant events. First, a new apex for pro-poor microfinance was designed, which resulted in the need to reconsider the nature of Khula's ongoing role as wholesaler to microfinance institutions. Second, the Financial Services Charter was signed in October 2003, in which banks committed to targets for so-called empowerment lending, including black small and medium enterprises. Third, a large number of microfinance initiatives continued to fail to reach sustainability and scale. This article investigates the reasons for the suspension of Nkwe's activities and draws conclusions on the lessons that should be learnt for the future development of microenterprise funding in South Africa.     

浅谈我国非主流金融机构的发展

我国的主流融资渠道(股票、债券、银行贷款)为我国社会主义现代化建设提供了巨额的资金支持,但是仅仅依靠主流的融资渠道不能引导资金实现最有效的配置。本文首先分析了主流融资渠道的局限性,随后陈述了大力发展非主流融资渠道的意义,最后从加快法律建设、加速利率市场化改革、完善信用担保体系以及发展与监管并行等四个方面提出推动我国非主流金融机构的政策建议。