Micro-finance

When Davuth fell behind on his microfinance loan earlier this year, a credit officer visited his home in Ratanakiri province almost daily. The officer pressured him to borrow from neighbourhood lenders or sell his farmland – his main source of income and livelihood, he said. ...

The financial standing of Cambodian borrowers has seen improvement over the years in many cases, as per data with the Cambodian Microfinance Association (CMA). ...

A number that might be of concern in Cambodia’s banking system is its loans versus deposits. For 2023, Cambodia’s banks total loans outstanding was $57.6 billion and total deposits $47.9 billion.  ...

Cambodian banks might see growth of around 10 percent in 2024, said bankers. Industry insiders say that the banking growth of the past of 20 percent is no longer possible. ...

Women clients of micro-finance institutions (MFIs) tend to have 9 percent more savings than men on average, as per a recent study. ...

KEAN SVAY, KANDAL PROVINCE, CAMBODIA — Five years ago, Lun Sam Ath took out a $12,000 loan to build a new wooden house and repay a previous loan that she had used to buy a motorbike. ...

Witnessing the merger between PRASAC Minority Depository Institution (MDI) and Kookmin Bank Cambodia, the Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) Chea Serey expressed hope to see more consolation happening in the industry to boost its resilience and efficiency. ...

Showing a shift in mindset, more Cambodians are now taking loans from microfinance institutions (MFIs) over home needs than for farming. ...

The microfinance sector has provided a credit sum of $5.12 billion to 1.57 million clients, an average of $3,260 per account last year, creating direct employment for 21,567 people nationwide with a business network of 904 offices. ...

Microfinance has grown exponentially in Cambodia and is not as stressed as reported by the international media, according to a study by research firm M-CRIL in partnership with the Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA). A sector which had only 50,000 clients in 1995, now services 2.1 ...

A study on over 3,200 microfinance borrowers from 450 villages in 10 provinces in the country has revealed that two thirds of them have seen an improvement in their lives, according to the Cambodian Microfinance Association (CMA). ...

Total outstanding loans in the microfinance sector stood at $5.13 billion during the end of the third quarter of the last year, according to the latest data published by the Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA). ...

Microfinance institutions have been asked to conduct loan restructuring on a case-by-case basis for clients who face difficulties in the Siem Reap tourism sector, real estate and other industries. ...

Kwak Nga was still reeling from her husband’s suicide when his microfinance creditors showed up at her home to remind her that they still expected the approximate $170 (£140) monthly interest payments the couple had struggled to make. ...

National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) governor Chea Serey has lauded the French government for its pivotal role in the expansion of the Kingdom’s financial industry, particularly its robust growth in the microfinance sector. ...

The Association of Banks in Cambodia (ABC) and the Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) are working together with members over the allegation on suicides and attempted suicides due to over-aggressive handling by loan officers in Ratanakkiri recently. ...

A meeting between the German Embassy in Cambodia and stakeholders in the microfinance sector has outlined proposals including improving communication with clients, compliance set-ups and grievance redress mechanisms. ...

Kampot provincial police arrested Chea Saron, who holds the honorific title Oknha, and his eight accomplices for alleged fraud perpetrated on over 2,000 families, bilking them out of nearly $40 million total through “scam” real estate projects. ...

The microfinance sector in Cambodia has been playing an important role in contributing to economic and social development, especially the reduction of poverty in rural areas, said a senior official at the National Bank of Cambodia. ...

A project to strengthen financial literacy at the local level has been launched to promote knowledge related to finance, rights, and client protection as well as to increase clients’ access to formal financial services within communities. ...

A partnership between Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) and Water.org aims to increase access to safe water and sanitation nationwide by offering incentives to finance the sector. ...

Cambodia’s microfinance sector recorded over 20 percent growth both in terms of loans and deposits by the end of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, despite the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, according to the Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA). ...

Financial institutions said on Wednesday that they will provide favorable easing to customers who have been affected by severe floods, following an appeal by Prime Minister Hun Sen. ...

Prime minister Hun Sen on Monday called on all microfinance institutions (MFIs) to throw a financial lifeline to people affected by flooding and defer loan repayments and ease interest rates. ...