Moody's to Develop Social Performance Assessment of Microfinance Institutions
NEW YORK, September 22, 2010:
Moody's Corporation announced today that it was recognized at the 2010 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting for its commitment to develop a quantitative, independent and globally consistent standard to measure social performance in the microfinance industry.
Investors, philanthropic organizations and lenders echo the need for a common, simplistic mechanism to determine the social impact of microfinance institutions (MFIs). The creation of an independent and globally consistent standard aims to more clearly differentiate the organizations that are having the greatest social impact through their efforts. As in other market sectors, this would add to the analytic tools available to investors and others, driving a more informed dialogue on MFIs.
"We anticipate that socially-driven microfinance institutions will benefit significantly from this standardized approach to assessing social performance," said Jody Rasch, Senior Vice President, Moody's Investors Service. "It has the potential to drive greater awareness of MFIs that have a positive impact on the lives of millions of people who benefit from projects funded through microfinance lenders."
Working with a consortium of partners, Moody's is conducting a market survey to assess current perceptions of the key factors influencing social performance. A number of market participants, including nonprofit and academic leaders, MFI practitioners and investors, will come together during the Microfinance Impact & Innovation Conference, which is being held on October 21-23, 2010 in New York, where Moody's will present some of the initial responses to the survey. Building on those findings and insight from other market sectors, Moody's will develop a more robust methodology, which can be adopted globally, for assessing the social performance of MFIs.
"Moody's is proud to continue our participation in the Clinton Global Initiative," said Fran Laserson, President of The Moody's Foundation. "CGI has provided a platform to partner with other corporate, academic and nonprofit leaders to contribute to the advancement of microfinance as a sustainable solution to providing much-needed capital to local communities and projects."
(This is a press release from Moody's Corporation)
