MICROCAPITAL STORY: Oikocredit Issues Shares in Local Currencies to Facilitate Microfinance in those Countries

Oikocredit, a Cooperative Investment Society based in the Netherlands, has decided at its Annual General Meeting to issue shares not only in the USD and the Euro, as they currently do, but also to expand to include other currencies as well. To start, shares will be issued in Sweden and in the United Kingdom to attract investors from those countries. In time, however, the organization hopes to also include currencies such as the South African Rand and the Indian Rupee, yielding an improved currency match for Oikocredit.

MICROCAPITAL STORY: MicroVest Capital Management and Lehman Brothers Announce the Launch of MicroAccess Trust 2007

MicroVest Capital Management, a US-based microfinance investment firm, and global investment bank Lehman Brothers close on the MicroAccess Trust 2007. This marks the first Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO) for MicroVest. The trust was arranged by Lehman Brothers, while MicroVest originated and services the USD 39 million portfolio of unsecured loans to microfinance institutions (MFIs) around the world.