Micro-lender Plans to Become Commercial Bank
Amret, one of the largest micro-finance institutions (MFIs) in the country, has announced that it is making plans to raise the capital required to become a full commercial bank by 2015, an official at the institution said yesterday. Chea Phalarin, CEO of Amret, said the decision to expand was made in order to bring services such as international money transfers and ATMs to its clients. … Amret is the fourth MFI in the past three months to announce its intention to become a commercial bank by 2015. … Although Cambodia’s banking market has become heavily saturated in recent years, bankers say that MFIs are unlikely to add to the competition too much. …
