New Organization to Publicize MFI Rates & Fees

Originally published: July 28, 2008
Source: Business Week

Chuck Waterfield, a professor at Columbia University and Muhammad Yunus have launched MicroFinance Transparency, a new self-monitoring organization, at this week's Asia-Pacific Regional Microcredit Summit 2008. MicroFinance Transparency’s goal is to prevent companies from taking advantage of poor people with high interest rates and misleading credit offers. The website will post interest rates charged by microcredit lenders around the world.

"Microfinance emerged as a struggle against loan sharks, so we don't want to see new loan sharks created in the name of microcredit," said Muhammad Yunus. In an effort to head off a potential crisis in the fast-expanding microfinance industry, its leaders are adopting global truth-in-lending standards and creating a system for comparing loan terms offered by competing lenders.

Read the complete article: Setting Standards for Microfinance (Business Week)