The paper analyses the savings pattern in North-East India to understand their specific needs and design products and services that suit their needs.
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Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC) in Uganda
Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC) is a savings led programme piloted by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) with the broad aim of supporting the poor to diversify their income generating activities. This is a report of the evaluation study of SILC in Uganda to assess its achievements, its challenges and from the lessons learned, make recommendations for expansion. It focuses on six thematic areas (human and spiritual, financial, physical, social, political and natural). This report shows that the program helped SILC group members to acquire skills in savings, credit, and record keeping besides building assets and increasing their incomes.
Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC) in Kenya
This is a report of the evaluation study of Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC) in Kenya to assess its achievements, its challenges and from the lessons learned, make recommendations for expansion. It focuses on six thematic areas (human and spiritual, financial, physical, social, political and natural). The review reveals that the programme is meeting its goal of providing financial services to the poor and vulnerable communities of Kilifi, Mombasa and Malindi. The report shows that there are positive effects of the programme on financial asset strengthening, and it has improved the financial asset base of SILC members. It further adds that SILC has enabled its members to build up small savings into useful lump sums with a secure means of savings and contributions into a social fund that offers security in case of immediate emergency needs e.g. school fees and hospital admissions.
SILC is a savings led programme piloted by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) with the broad aim of supporting the poor to diversify their income generating activities.
The Market Led Revolution of Equity Bank
Today Equity Bank is a remarkable institution. It has become the most highly capitalised bank in Kenya with total shareholders funds of more than $250 million as of March 2008, serving more than 2 million customers, through 76 branches and more than 350 ATMs. But in 1993, the Central Bank of Kenya confirmed that, as Equity Building Society, it was technically insolvent, had poor board supervision and inadequate management. This note outlines the success factors underlying this remarkable change.
Benefits of Loan Portfolio Audit for MFIs
This note highlights the key benefits which Loan Portfolio Audit (LPA) has produced and has been prepared with the objective of further promoting its adoption amongst Indian MFIs. The note mentions the points which helped the MFIs which opted for LPA in India. Some of the benefits are—pin-pointing gaps in policy and procedure and solutions for these, identifying internal audit and control system risks and ways of reducing these, solving gaps related to MIS, supplementing rating reports, establishing transparency and enabling fund raising. However, the note reminds of the fact that LPA is primarily a diagnostic tool used to help MFIs target capacity building/institutional strengthening efforts and it does not use the findings to judge the quality of an MFI
Establishing a Credit Administration & Control Unit
Credit administration and credit controls are the two key components in the active management support of the frontline credit processes of making individual loans and client management. This note demonstrates the ways to organise a Credit Administration Unit (CAU), when an organisation grows in terms of volume and outreach. Contextualising the growth scenario, the note outlines regulatory requirements and geographical expansion as key reasons that lead to implementation of credit administration and control. It highlights the essential components of a lending institution’s credit roles and summarises factors for right credit administration and controls. The note also puts forward the staffing pattern and delves into roles and responsibilities of the staff in CAU.