Publications Based on Information Collected by
The Microfinance Information Exchange, Inc (MIX)
Prepared by Adrian Gonzalez
Updated December, 2008
The goal of this document is to help our users understand the various ways MIX data and
analyses are employed by other organizations, researchers, and news outlets. MIX does
not claim that our data was the only information analyzed on each publication, but that it
was a vital piece of information for the whole content.
This list is not exhaustive of all publications referencing MIX products, but is
representative of the publications and research that highlight our work. The results of the
following publications do not necessarily reflect those of the Microfinance Information
Exchange, Board of Directors or employees.
The highlighted links below link directly to the paper cited; simply click on the link.
December 2008
The Evolution of Microfinance and the Implications for Donors and Networks
Piyush Tantia
Oliver Wyman
www.oliverwyman.com
Oliver Wyman, a global management consultancy is committed to providing thought
leadership and high-impact pro bono or discounted consulting engagements to the
microfinance industry. As a part of these efforts, they engaged in a primary research
study to evaluate the impact of commercialization trends on donor strategies and the role
of service providers and intermediaries such as international network support
organizations within the microfinance industry.
To define the emerging roles of donors and networks, they interviewed experts and senior
executives across a range of entities involved in microfinance. Moreover, MIX Market
data (www.mixmarket.org) is cited as the source of information in a number of pages. In
addition, among the publications cited in this report is the Deutsche Bank Research
Report from December 2007 listed below.
August 2008
Where does Microfinance Flourish? Microfinance Institution Performance in
Macroeconomic Context,
Christian Ahlin, Jocelyn Lin, and Michael Maio,
Michigan State University.
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https://www.msu.edu/~ahlinc/research/mfimacro2.pdf
The main goal of this paper is to explore the impact of the country-level context
(macroeconomic and macro-institutional features) on the level of success of microfinance
institutions. For that, the authors analyze the performance of 329 MFIs from 70
countries, all from The MIX Market (www.mixmarket.org).
The Rise of Microfinance as a Viable Alternative Investment,
Abigail McKenna, Federico Kaune and Christian Novak,
Morgan Stanley.
The authors of this paper argue that microfinance is an important component of the effort
to alleviate world poverty and an effective tool to improve human development through
economic empowerment. Their research suggests that the microfinance business model
is successful, scalable, and poised to grow over the next decade. In making their case, the
authors reference many MIX publications including the MicroBanking Bulleting (MBB),
Resilience of Microfinance Institutions to National Macroeconomic Events, How Many
Borrowers and MFIs Exist?, and The MIX Market (www.mixmarket.org).
June 2008
A letter to our peers,
Carlos Danel and Carlos Labarthe,
Banco Compartamos.
http://www.microfinancegateway.com/files/49967_file_Alettertoourpeers.pdf
One of the main components of this letter is the discussion of performance
indicators of Banco Compartamos versus its peers, both in Latin America and worldwide.
Most of the performance information presented in the letter comes from The MIX Market
(www.mixmarket.org), and benchmarks from The MicroBanking Bulleting No. 16
(http://www.themix.org/publication_detail.aspx?publicationID=237).
In addition, the authors quoted occasionally the Highlight section from the same
MBB and from a special analysis produce by MIX on the comparison of loan balances
per borrowers in different countries when income inequality is considered (International
Comparison of Loan Balances per Borrower, Adrian Gonzalez, MBB No. 16, pp. 23-27).
The letter also based some on their conclusions on the Microfinance Banana Skins
2008 (March), a publication that benefited from the support from The MIX. Finally, this
letter discusses some of the findings presented in CGAP Reflections on the Compartamos
Initial Public Offering (June 2007) that relies heavily on MIX data.
The Microfinance Sector: Its' Success Could be Its Biggest Risk,
Sandra Mai Hamilton, Lindsey Liddell, Mark Young, Peter Shaw, Alejandro Garcia,
Arshad Khan, Ambreesh Srivastava,
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Fitch Ratings, Special Report.
http://www.microfinancegateway.org/content/article/detail/49914
In this special report, the authors argue that the microfinance track record is short and its
success could increasingly expose it to greater risks. In particular, strong growth and
increased need for external funding has put pressure on the internal control systems, and
place new demands on quality of management and corporate governance structures,
which MFIs struggle to meet. They also argue that as MFI clients become more
integrated into the mainstream financial sector, convergence occurs between
microfinance and mainstream banking which would reduce their resilience to the broader
economy. All through this report there are multiple references to the MIX Market, the
MicroBanking Bulletin (MBB), Resilience of Microfinance to local Macroeconomic
Events, How Many Borrower and Savers Exist?
The Geographic Distribution of Microfinance Services in India 2007,
Doug Johnson,
Centre for Micro Finance (CMF), Focus Note No. 3,
http://ifmr.ac.in/cmf/focus_notes/3-MoM.pdf
Figures for total number of active borrowers for top 40 Indian MFIs displayed in
Appendix B are from MIX Market (www.mixmarket.org). Based on this figures, the
author estimates the coverage of his particular sample use to measure microfinance
penetration at the district and department level in India.
May 2008
Microfinance and Capital Markets: The Initial Listing/Publication Offering of Four
Leading Institutions,
Ira W. Lieberman, Anne Anderson, Zach Grafe, Bruce Campbell and Daniel Kopf,
Council of Microfinance Equity Funds
http://www.cmef.com/CMEF4.pdf
This paper discusses the history and IPOs/listings of four leading microfinance
institutions who have carried out such transactions –Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI),
BRAC Bank in Bangladesh, Banco Compartamos in Mexico and Equity Bank in Kenya.
These institutions are well known for their exceptional growth, robust financial
performance and ability to expand their outreach to the working poor. The paper
includes over ten references to The MIX Market (www.mixmarket.org), that include full
table with performance indicators for three of the four institutions under analysis.
Microfinance Meets the Market,
Robert Cull, Asli Demirguc-Kunt, and Jonathan Morduch,
The World Bank and New York University
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http://wwwwds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/IW3P/IB/2008/05/27/00015834
9_20080527095250/Rendered/PDF/wps4630.pdf
This paper analyzes the tensions and opportunities of microfinance as it embraces the
market, drawing on a data set that includes 346 of the world’s leading microfinance
institutions and covers nearly 18 million active borrowers, all participants of previous
editions of the MicroBanking Bulletin (MBB). The data show successes in maintaining
high rates of loan repayment, but according to the authors, the data also suggests that
profit-maximizing investors would have limited interest in most of the institutions that
are focusing on the poorest customers and women.
April 2008
Microfinance Sector Transformation –Making sense of the Basel II Capital Accord,
Philip Brown, Shankar Arora, and Dermot Turing,
Citi Microfinance and Clifford Chance LLP
http://www.citi.com/citigroup/microfinance/data/news080602a.pdf
Most figures related to the market structure of the microfinance sector discussed
in this paper are based on data from The MIX Market (www.mixmarket.org). Ian
particular, the authors focus on an analysis by type of microfinance institution (MFI):
bank, non-bank financial institution, NGO, credit union, and rural banks; and a
descriptive analysis of the number of MFIs that have change their legal status
(transformations) in the 2004-2006 period.
March 2008
Microfinance Banana Skins 2008. Risk in a Booming Industry
David Lascelles,
Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation.
http://www.microfinancegateway.org/files/47464_file_CSFI_Microfinance_FINAL.pdf
The Microfinance Information Exchange, Inc. (MIX) provided important support
and help made this report possible, together with other institutions.
December 2007
Microfinance: An Emerging Investment Opportunity. Uniting Social Investment and
Financial Returns,
Raimar Dieckmann, Deutsche Bank Research,
http://www.dbresearch.com/PROD/DBR_INTERNET_ENPROD/PROD0000000000219174.pdf
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Some of the most interesting conclusions of this paper include that microfinance
constitutes an emerging investment opportunity for institutions and individuals alike,
investors have barely started its full potential, and that by 2015 institutional and
individual investments in microfinance will rise to around USD 20 bn. The paper makes
frequent references to the MIX Market, and other MIX publications including Resilience
and How Many Borrowers and Savers.
June 2007
CGAP Reflections on the Compartamos Initial Public Offering: A Case Study on
Microfinance Interest Rates and Profits,
Richard Rosenberg, CGAP, Focus Note No. 42.
http://collab2.cgap.org/gm/document-1.9.2440/FocusNote_42.pdf
One of the principal sources for the analysis presented in this Focus Note is The
MIX Market (www.mixmarket.org) and the MicroBanking Bulletin databases
(www.mixmbb.org). The other is the offering circular for the IPO. In particular, MIX
databases are the main source for most tables and figures presented in this paper.
The Banco Compartamos Initial Public Offering,
Elizabeth Rhyne and Andres Guimon, Accion InSight No. 23,
Accion.
http://publications.accion.org/insight/InSight_23_227.asp
Most of the information presented in Table 1 and all information represented in
Figure 1 from this paper come from The Mix Market (www.mixmarket.org). Finally,
two of the references from this paper have benefited intensively from the MIX: The
Growth of Commercial Microfinance: 2004-2006 (September 2006) and CGAP
Reflections on the Compartamos Initial Public Offering (June 2007).
2006
Valuing Microfinance Institutions,
Barclay O’Brien,
Opportunity International
Savings and development, No. 3, pp. 275-296,
http://www.microfinancegateway.org/files/36283_file_Savings_and_Development_Articl
e.pdf
This paper discussed data from The MIX Market (www.mixmarket.org),
November 2006
Can Microfinance Reduce Portfolio Volatility?
Nicolas Krauss and Ingo Walter
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=943786
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All data on the performance on microfinance institutions analyzed on this paper comes
from The MicroBanking Bulletin (MBB).
September 2006
The Growth of Commercial Microfinance: 2004-2006,
Elisabeth Rhyne and Brian Bush, Council of Microfinance Equity Funds
http://publications.accion.org/publications/The_Growth_219.asp
As the authors suggest, The MIX Market (www.mixmarket.org) and the
MicroBanking Bulleting (www.mixmbb.org) “were often the first resource we turned to
for reliable resources and industry information”.
August 2006
The Microfinance Collateralized Debt Obligation: a Modern Robin Hood?
Hans Bystrom, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Lund University,
Sweden.
http://www.nek.lu.se/publications/workpap/Papers/WP06_14.pdf
Some of the investment fund information presented in this paper comes from The
MIX Market (www.mixmarket.org). In addition, the author based their estimation for
administrative cost on the figure reported in the MicroBanking Bulletin
(www.mixmbb.org) for Asia.
January 2006
A New Way to do Well by Doing Good,
Rachel Emma Silverman, Wall Street Journal, January 6, 2006.
http://images.kiva.org/content/about/images/WSJ_A_New_Way_to_do_Well_by_Doing_
Good.pdf
The figures on portfolio quality and average loan balances are based on MIX
research and The MIX Market (www.mixmarket.org). In addition, the paper makes a few
references to the MIX.
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