Deutsche Bank’s Global Social Finance Group today announced the
conclusion of the seven-year investment term, and the release of an
assessment report, for its innovative USD 83 million microfinance fund
(the Fund). The Fund provided financing to 21 microfinance institutions
(MFIs) in 15 countries, enabling them to transition into more resilient,
sophisticated and client-responsive financial institutions.
Through subordinated debt financing, the Fund helped the MFIs achieve
institutional strengthening and portfolio growth, along with a more
diverse offering of services at a lower cost. Subordinated, long-term
debt is particularly meaningful to MFIs that are seeking to strengthen
and leverage their balance sheets for growth and, in some instances, in
order to qualify as formally regulated institutions.
“Deutsche Bank’s consistent strategy has been to provide capital to
enable high performing MFIs worldwide to responsibly grow in order to
broaden their reach to provide the un-banked poor with high quality
services,” said Gary Hattem, Head of the Global Social Finance Group,
Deutsche Bank. “Using our capabilities as a global investment bank,
Deutsche Bank is able to foster commercial sustainability of MFIs at
different growth stages and to encourage a balance between financial and
social objectives.”
The assessment report found that since receiving the Fund’s loan in
2007, the MFIs have been able to grow their portfolios more than
threefold to USD 12.1 billion from USD 3.7 billion, while increasing
their number of borrowers to 5.5 million from 2.2 million. The MFIs were
able to double the median number of loan product types and kept their
average loan size adapted to those most in need, demonstrating the MFIs’
commitment to serving a client base composed mostly of women and rural
populations.
Deutsche Bank was the first global bank to establish a socially
motivated microfinance fund in 1997, managed by its Global Social
Finance Group. Since then, the Bank partnered with more than 130 MFIs in
more than 50 countries, benefiting as many as 3.8 million low-income
entrepreneurs through USD 1.67 billion in financing.
Learn more about the Global
Social Finance Group.
Read the complete assessment report that evaluates the fulfillment of
the Fund’s objectives, available here: https://www.db.com/usa/content/en/vg-microfinance-invest-1.html
Deutsche Bank is a leading client-centric global universal bank serving
28 million clients worldwide. Deutsche Bank provides commercial and
investment banking, retail banking, transaction banking and asset and
wealth management products and services to corporations, governments,
institutional investors, small and medium-sized businesses, and private
individuals. Deutsche Bank is Germany’s leading bank, with a strong
position in Europe and a significant presence in the Americas and Asia
Pacific.
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Copyright Business Wire 2015