Micro-finance, macro gains

Micro-finance lending has been touted as the great hope for introducing enterprise and sustainable wealth creation to those parts of the world seemingly trapped in poverty. The securitisation of micro-finance loans was the next step in that development. Despite the turmoil in the credit markets, the great hope continues. By John Ferry

In June, rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) released a paper called the Report of the Microfinance Rating Methodology Working Group, in which it stated that the micro-finance sector has transformed in recent years from a focus on 'does micro-finance work?' to 'how do we scale up?'. That was just before the turbulence in the credit markets and the hit to credibility that all collateralised debt obligation structures took.

Immediately prior to this, the market was reaching new levels of