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Article

28 Jul 2008

Author:
Associated Press

11 microfinance groups agree to publish rates; Nobel winner says don't profit from poor

Eleven microfinance groups that together serve nearly 26 million people agreed Monday to publicly report their annual interest rates, a move many hope will empower the world's poorest borrowers as the once-charitable sector becomes increasingly commercialized. "If you are making profits you are moving into the same mental mind-set as loan sharks," Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus said... He believes interest rates should be set to cover costs, not maximize profits... [His] pioneering bank, Grameen, has already signed on to the new MicroFinance Transparency initiative... Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, and Morgan Stanley have all entered the microfinance market...and private equity investors have also started to pile in... [also refers to Unitus Capital, Banco Compartamos]