MIX and the McGraw-Hill Companies celebrate increased microfinance transparency through social performance reporting
Over the past few years, the microfinance industry has experienced rapid changes due to the effects of turmoil in financial markets and has received increased scrutiny as a result of the business practices of some microfinance institutions (MFIs). Now more than ever, it is important for the sector to have access to transparent, reliable, and relevant microfinance data and analysis.
MIX is committed to promoting financial inclusion through transparency, and with the generous support of the McGraw-Hill Companies, is continuing to make great strides to improve data collection, validation techniques, training materials, and data-driven analysis of social performance management information.
“The McGraw-Hill Companies’ long-standing support of MIX’s mission has enabled us to continue to strengthen data and analytics around the social performance of microfinance institutions, making an important contribution to informing how these institutions serve their clients’ needs,” remarked Marten Leijon, CEO of MIX.
The partnership and support provided by the McGraw-Hill Companies has allowed MIX to increase the scope and quality of social performance data flows, provide a benchmark for transparent social performance reporting, and improve the ability of MIX Market users to understand and access social performance data.
Jane Eddy, Managing Director with Standard & Poor’s noted: “The McGraw-Hill Companies is proud to be a part of MIX’s efforts to promote transparency in the microfinance industry. MIX’s increased scope and quality improves MIX’s ability to fulfill its mission of providing data that ultimately facilitates the ability of MFIs to lend to the world's poorest."
Since MIX began collecting social performance information in 2009, MIX has rapidly increased the number of MFIs reporting such information and improved the quality of that data. This advance can be seen in the recent growth to 628 MFIs providing 2010 social performance information, up from 405 the prior year, with further increase expected in this year’s reporting.
This increased number of MFIs reporting social performance data has enabled MIX to conduct in-depth research on the sector as demonstrated in our most recent piece of analysis: Field staff compensation at Indian MFIs: a new perspective on the crisis in Andhra Pradesh. In this report, MIX examined whether the salary structures and compensation levels of the field staff of Indian MFIs shed light on the allegations of unethical lending and collection at certain Indian MFIs.
“In India, it is likely that many field staff members subsist on incomes quite close to the international poverty line, and that the primary means of increasing this income is through portfolio growth, which represents a significant portion of their compensation. Such a situation represents a legitimate danger from a client protection perspective over and above any considerations of social responsibility to staff,” said Micol Pistelli, Director of Social Performance at MIX. “Thanks to the generous support of McGraw-Hill, MIX will continue to grow our global social performance dataset so we can continue to shed new light into areas of social responsibility toward clients and staff.”
About MIX:
MIX is the premier source for objective, qualified and relevant microfinance performance data and analysis. Committed to strengthening financial inclusion and the microfinance sector by promoting transparency, MIX provides performance information on microfinance institutions (MFIs), funders, networks and service providers dedicated to serving the financial sector needs for low-income clients.
MIX fulfills its mission through a variety of platforms. On MIX Market (www.mixmarket.org), we provide instant access to financial and social performance information covering approximately 2,000 MFIs around the world. Our publications, MicroBanking Bulletin and MIX Microfinance World, feature thorough and timely analysis based on qualified data and research.
Incorporated in 2002, MIX is a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, DC with regional offices in Azerbaijan, India, Morocco, and Peru. Our public information services are strengthened through our collaboration with the following global partners: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CGAP, Omidyar Network, The MasterCard Foundation, IFAD, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Citi Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Deutsche Bank. For more information about MIX, please visit www.mixmarket.org/about.
About The McGraw-Hill Companies:
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global financial information and education company that helps professionals and students succeed in the Knowledge Economy. With leading brands including Standard & Poor’s, McGraw-Hill Education, Platts energy information services and J.D. Power and Associates, the Corporation has approximately 21,000 employees with more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2010 were $6.2 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.
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