COVID-19 FinDev Weekly Update | 18-24 June 2020

FinDev Gateway has created this COVID-19 weekly update with the latest and most relevant knowledge resources for financial inclusion as they become available. Sign up to receive FinDev's weekly update each Friday with a summary of the main issues covered during the week. 

If you have content to share in our weekly update, please submit here or contact us directly. 

Do you find the update useful? How often would you like to receive it? Take a moment to let us know >>                                                                                                       

Global Summary

• On World Refugee Day (20 June), the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) emphasized the importance of including forcibly displaced people (FDPs) in financial inclusion policies and regulations, arguing that “with host countries already focused on alleviating the economic impact of COVID-19 on their own citizens, FDPs are in danger of being excluded from government safety nets and emergency plans.” 
• ADA, Inpulse and Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation are working together to monitor the effects of COVID-19 on their partners and shared the first round of results, which include responses from 110 organizations in 47 countries around the world. Though there are strong regional differences in impact, common problems among all MFIs surveyed include difficulties with disbursements, collection of reimbursements and meeting with clients.
• Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) and the International Growth Centre (IGC) have created a new survey to monitor the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on firms, workers and farmers. Their joint website will share data and results from the new survey, as well from the World Bank’s Business Pulse Survey, which has been harmonized with the IPA/IGC survey questionnaire in a joint effort to draw results that are more comparable across projects and countries. 
• The IMF has developed a structural framework for the joint stress testing of solvency and liquidity, providing a methodology for quantifying the impact of economic shocks from the COVID-19 crisis on the solvency and liquidity of financial institutions. The approach may serve as a useful tool for adjusting policy responses.

Asia

• M-Cril estimates that the main small finance banks in India will require $200-330 million each in funds from investors and lenders - equivalent to 20 percent of the overall funds currently managed by each of them - in order to survive and revive their businesses after the moratorium period ends. 
• Digital payment fraud continues to be a problem in India, prompting the Reserve Bank of India to ask payment systems operators to educate their users on safe and secure use of digital payments through multilingual campaigns using SMS and advertisements.
• The Foundation for Development Cooperation, based in Australia, shared results from a survey it conducted with the Banking with the Poor (BWTP) Network of 1,500 microfinance providers across 11 countries in Asia. 90 percent of the clients surveyed had requested a grace period or extension of loan repayments. Most MFIs surveyed were experiencing significant, negative impacts on key financial measures such as current and debt/equity ratios, operating margins and percentage of portfolio at risk.

Africa

• The Central Bank of Rwanda has announced the reintroduction of fees on mobile money transactions after a three-month moratorium on fees. Meanwhile, in Kenya, the Central Bank announced the extension of emergency measures to facilitate cashless transactions until the end of the year.
• Madagascar will offer a stimulus package to nearly a million small businesses, offering secure loans at below market rates. 
• The Microfinance Support Centre in Uganda told Parliament that it will need over $83 million to facilitate the recovery of 1,749 Savings and Credits Cooperative Societies (Saccos) and 14,842 Village Savings and Lending Associations.
• In Togo, the National Fund for Inclusive Finance (FNFI) is supporting MFIs by reducing interest rates and adding bonuses on financing. 
• The lack of identity documents is becoming a bigger issue across the continent, as people without ID may be denied welfare and health services. A digital financial identity could change that.

For more on Africa, check out the latest Portail FinDev Weekly Update in French.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Most articles and knowledge resources referenced in this section are in Spanish.

• A survey conducted in 17 countries in the region by the IDB shows that households with the lowest income prior to COVID-19 are the most impacted by the pandemic’s economic effects, with 71 percent reporting that a household member lost their jobs and 61 percent having to close their businesses.
• In the first four months of the year, bank deposits reached a record high volume in Mexico, as people and companies saved more money to face a more complex economic turndown than expected.
• In Ecuador, 50 percent of loans placed in the microfinance sector have been refinanced and 64 percent of these refinanced loans are from the provinces most affected by COVID-19.
• The Bolivian government approved a fund to reactivate the micro, small and medium enterprises, a sector that generates 80 percent of employment in the country.
• The Central Bank of Brazil suspended Facebook’s WhatsApp payment services days after its launch, to ensure competition in the mobile payment space.

For more on LAC, check out the latest Portal FinDev Weekly Update in Spanish.

Arab World

• The European Union is hosting a virtual conference this week to mobilize dialogue and further humanitarian and development assistance for over 11 million people in need both inside Syria and in neighboring countries. With the COVID-19 economic downturn, refugee households are taking on additional debt and are not able to pay their rent anymore, according to UNHCR.
• Data from the Vitas Group COVID-19 Impact Client Survey in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine shows that family health is the largest concern among clients, followed by financial worries. Most clients surveyed either used savings or relied on family and friends to cope with the ongoing financial crisis.
• A recent study by Egypt’s official statistics agency shows that 50 percent of Egyptian families are borrowing from others to counter the effects of the coronavirus, 17 percent rely on charity and 5.4 percent receive the employment grant for irregular workers.

For more on the Arab world and resources in Arabic, check out the latest FinDev Weekly Update in Arabic.