For immediate release
Contact: Patricia Rojas Echavarria, Inter-American Development Bank
202 623 1373
PATRICIARO @iadb.org

For immediate release

April 10, 2008

Women's World Banking and the Inter-American Development Bank/Multilateral Investment Fund will co-host a seminar on bank entry into microfinance. The seminar will take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on April 22, 2008, in collaboration with the Latin American Federation of Banks (FELABAN, from its acronym in Spanish) and its representative in Argentina, the FELABAN Argentine Commission.

New York, NY—Women's World Banking (WWB), a global network of microfinance institutions, and the Inter-American Development Bank/Multilateral Investment Fund (IDB/MIF), the oldest and largest regional bank in the world, will co-host a seminar on bank entry into microfinance entitled “Microfinance: Towards the Inclusion of All.” The seminar, which will take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina on April 22, 2008, is being held in collaboration with the Latin American Federation of Banks, a non-profit institution comprised of more than 600 financial entities from 19 countries in the region that promotes the economic development and integration of Latin American countries. The purpose of the seminar is to present microfinance as a profitable business opportunity for commercial banks in Argentina. To this end, Latin American financial institutions will share their experiences of developing business models that reach many clients and that offer a wide range of products and services tailored to microentrepreneurs.

IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno will open the event, along with Her Royal Highness Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, who is a member of the United Nations Advisors Group on Inclusive Financial Sectors.

"The trend of commercial banks entering the microfinance sector is generating great hope in Latin America in terms of opportunities for growth in the sector in the region and the type and cope of services that could eventually be offered to low-income entrepreneurs,” said Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO of Women's World Banking.

"We are confident that this event will help microfinance—a sector with enormous potential in Argentina—develop efficiently and sustainably to support those segments that still do not have access to financing. Commercial banks have a crucial role to play in this process because they will ensure the long-term sustainability of such services,” said Moreno.

“Strategic partnerships in the financial sector can help expand access to financial products and services to those not yet served by commercial banks. Agreements between banks, telephone companies, cooperatives, postal services, retailers and nongovernmental organizations are just some concrete examples we have seen around the world that are already producing positive results. Walk another mile and you will find an unexpected partner that will join you on the road to sustainability," said Her Royal Highness Princess Maxima.

At the one-day seminar, more than 100 leaders from the financial services sector in Argentina—including financial institutions, regulators, managers, policymakers, economic development officials and representatives of microfinance institutions from across Latin America—will share their perspectives on implementing successful business models for microfinance. Event participants will discuss topics such as:

• The trend of an increasing number of commercial banks entering microfinance in Latin America;
• the range of business models and strategies that banks in Latin America are implementing to target this segment;
• key success indicators to provide profitable credit and savings services to microentrepreneurs; and
• the regulatory framework needed to encourage the development of the microfinance industry in Argentina.

About Women's World Banking (WWB)

WWB is a global network of 54 microfinance providers and banks, working in 30 countries to bring financial products and services to low-income entrepreneurs, especially women. The network serves 9 million microentrepreneurs directly, and another 14 million indirectly through its bank partners and other regional networks. WWB is supported by an international team of experts based in New York that delivers expertise in product design and distribution, access to capital markets, and customer care and insight.

About the IDB/MIF

The MIF is an independent fund administered by the IDB that supports private sector growth in Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing on microenterprise and small business.
Through grants and investments, the MIF actively seeks partners to help test innovative ideas and demonstrate their effectiveness. MIF projects are designed to become self-sustaining and have the potential for expansion so that they can eventually improve the lives of millions of people in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The MIF is the main source of technical cooperation grants for development of microenterprise and small businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean. The MIF has approved over 1,000 projects, primarily grants, with over 800 partners in civil society, business and government, thereby creating a community of agents of change that promote innovation in the private sector and share lessons learned. Through these projects, overall $2.2 billion has been invested in the 26 developing member countries of the IDB.

About FELABAN and the FELABAN Argentine Commission

The Latin American Banking Federation (FELABAN), is a nonprofit institution established in 1965 in Mar del Plata, Argentina. Through its member associations in 19 countries in the hemisphere, it represents over 500 banks and financial institutions in Latin America.

The purpose of FELABAN is to promote and develop contact, understanding and direct relationships among credit institutions in Latin America; to help coordinate standards and unify banking practices, through its technical services; to cooperate, within the scope of its activities, in the most effective economic development of Latin American countries and their economic integration; to use all the means at its disposal to promote the development and well-being of the countries where its members are located—in short, to integrate financial systems in the region.