Micro Lending Rises 13%

A survey by the IDB’s Multilateral Investment Fund shows that microfinance lending in LatAm and the Caribbean rose 13% in 2009, lower than the 18% increase seen in 2008. Lending jumped to $12.3bn in 2009 after reaching $10.9bn in 2008 and $9.2bn in 2007. In terms of loan portfolio, Peru tops the ranking with $3.2bn of microloans. Ecuador is second, with a portfolio of $1.7bn, followed by Colombia, which has a total of $1.4bn in microloans. There are more than 700 microfinance institutions in the region, according to the IDB.