外文翻译--小额信贷业发展的阵痛

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外文原文：Microfinance'sLatestGrowingPainsThemostrecentcrisistohitmicrofinancebeganinIndia'ssouthernstateofAndhraPradesh,whereallegationsofwidespreadover-indebtedness,heavy-handedcollectiontacticsandborrowersuicideshavestirredanationaldebateaboutregulatingtheindustry.InOctober,thestategovernmentslappedrestrictionsonmicrofinanceinstitutionsthatcrippledlendingandsentcollectionratesplummetingalongwiththesharepriceofSKSMicrofinance,India'slargestfor-profitmicrolender.OnJanuary19,theMalegamCommitteeReport,releasedbytheReserveBankofIndia,recommendedarangeofnewregulationsforIndia'smicrofinanceinstitutions,includinginterestratecaps,loanlimitsandincomeceilingsforborrowers.Someobserverswelcomedthenews;doomsayerspredictedacreditcrunchandindustrycollapse.Whileitistooearlytotellhowthesectorwillrespond,thecrisisinAndhraPradeshhassparkedheateddebateandsoul-searchingthroughouttheworld'smicrofinancecommunity.DuringarecentprogramformicrofinanceleadersatWharton'sArestyInstituteofExecutiveEducation,discussionturnedrepeatedlytoquestionsofover-indebtedness,rapidindustrygrowth,andthefinelinebetweenprofitsandpurpose.Themicrofinancesectorhasexperienced"arudeawakening"by"adelinquencyearthquake,"saidoneoftheprogram's26internationalparticipants,KamranAzim,duringageneraldiscussionaboutthegrowthandsustainabilityofthemicrofinanceindustry.Azim,headofoperationsattheKashfFoundation,amicrofinanceorganizationestablishedin1996inLahore,Pakistan,pointedoutthatmethodsandmethodologiesinmicrofinancehavechangedlittleinthepast20or30years.Nowsuddenly,theearthhasmoved.Sponsoredbythe Women'sWorldBankingCenterforMicrofinanceLeadership,theAdvancedLeadershipProgramatWhartonbroughttogethermicrofinanceleadersforaweekofintensivestudy,brainstormingandnetworkingtohelppreparethemforthechallengesfacingmicrofinancetoday.Thegoalofthisyear'scohort:tofindinnovativewaystoconfronttheglobaleconomiccrisis,newcompetition,increasedregulationandrelentlesspressuretoperform."Duringtimesofacceleratedchange,thereisatendencytorelyonknownwaysofdoingbusiness,"readstheintroductiontooneoftheprogram'scourses."Yetitisatjustthesetimesthatinnovationisofheightenedimportance."Atthesametime,asseveralparticipantsnoted,theindustrymustfindnewwaystosustaingrowthwithoutlosingsightofclients'needs.Forsomemicrofinanceinstitutions,thatcouldrequireacrashcourseinbusinessfundamentalssuchasduediligence,sustainablegrowthandcustomercare. TheEffectsofOver-lendingThemodernmicrofinancemovementbeganinBangladeshin1977,asanexperimentbyeconomicsprofessorMuhammadYunus,whogaveoutsmall,no-collateralloanstogroupsofborrowerstoopoortogetcreditfromtraditionalbanks.Overthenextthreedecades,themodelheestablishedbecamewidelyacceptedandreplicatedinothercountriesasawaytofightpoverty.MicrofinancespreadaroundtheworldandearnedYunusaNobelPrizein2006.Butoverthepastfewyears,increasingcompetitionamonglendersandaweakglobaleconomyhavestrainedborrowersandmicrofinanceinstitutionsalike.Asanincreasingnumberofbanksandfor-profitcompaniesenteredthemarketandcontributionsfrominvestorsincreased,somemarketsbecameover-saturatedandborrowersover-extended.Microfinanceinstitutionsarenowseekingwaystocontinuegrowingwithlessrisk."Weareinatensionfieldbetweensustainabilityand...socialimpact,"saidparticipantCarineRoenen,executivedirectorofFonkoze,agrass-rootsmicrofinanceorganizationbasedinPort-au-Prince,Haiti."Youtakeoneofthesetwopolesoutoftheequationandthingsgowrong."Fonkoze,Haiti'slargestmicrofinanceinstitution,isusedtooperatingundersuchtension.Afterhurricanesaffectedthelivesofone-thirdofitsclientsin2008,Fonkozehelpedstrugglingborrowersbyreschedulingexistingloans.SincetheearthquakeinJanuary2010,ithasdistributedthousandsofcashgrants,andmorethan10,000newloanstoclients,andhasdevelopedacatastrophemicro-insuranceprogram."Microfinance,especiallyafterYunusreceivedhis[Nobel]prize,wasbrandedassomethingthatwasgoodforthepeople,"Roenennoted."AndnowAndhraPradeshcomeswithastorywhereitisbad....Wecanprobablylearnwhathappenedthere.Thepublicknowsandexpectsfromusthatweprovidesocialvalue.Butweneedtocommunicateaboutthatmuchmorethanwedo."Thelastthreeyearshavewitnessedawaveofeventsstemmingfromover-lending,saidprogramparticipantInezMurray,executivevicepresidentofNewYork-basedWomen'sWorldBanking.Amongthem:Nicaragua'smicrofinanceindustrysufferedacrisisin2008whena"NoPago"(NoPay)movementledtowidespreaddefaultsandviolentprotests;Morocco'smicrofinancesectorexperiencedawaveofdefaultsthatledtothedemiseofoneofthebiggestMFIs;andBosniawitnessedover-indebtednessafterwarrecoveryeffortsspawnedalargenumberofMFIschasingtoofewcustomers.Ineachcase,therootcauseswerecomplex:poorcompetitivepractices--forexample,cherrypickingeachother'sclients--aswellasrelaxationofduediligenceasMFIssoughttogrowrapidly;manipulationofclientsbylocalpoliticalforces;andmacroeconomicshocks.Microfinance"worksinanecosystem,"Murraysaid."Whenitbecomestoosuccessfulandmoneyisinvolved,riskiscreated." ProgramparticipantMavsudaVaisovasawthenegativeresultsofoverlendinginTajikistan,wheresheworksasgeneraldirectorforHumoandPartners,amicro-lendingfundinDushanbe.Startedwithastaffofjust19in2005,themicrolendingorganizationnowhas11branches,260employees,10,000clientsandanactiveportfolioofUS$5.5million."Lastyear,duringthecrisissituation,wesawwhathappened.Peoplewerekillingthemselvesbecausetheycouldnotrepayfiveorsixloans,"Vaisovasaid."ThesecasesinTajikistanhappenedsooften[thatwesaid]toallourcreditors,'Pleasedon'tpushusbecausewecannotpushpeopletokillthemselves.'"Insomecountries,theproblemofover-indebtednesshasbeenattributedtoalackofinformation:Withoutasystemofcreditbureausorofficialidentificationcardsforthepoor,lenderscouldnotdetermineaborrower'scredithistoryorthepresenceofexistingloansfromotherlenders.ButthatwasnotthecaseinTajikistan,accordingtoVaisova.Thecountryhasagoodinformationexchangeaboutclients,somicrofinancecompanieswereabletoseethatborrowerswerealreadyindebt."Theycanseethatthisclienthastwo,threeoutstandingdebtswithotherorganizations.Still,theywouldliketohavemoreoutreach,sotheyprovideanotherloan,"shesaid.Whengiventhechoice,mostborrowersgladlytakeadvantageoftheextracredit."Peoplecannotcorrectlyevaluatetheirloanneeds.Theyarejusttaking,taking,taking--andthentheycannotrepay."Traditionalbanks,too,havebeguntowoothemicro-borrowerinmanycountries,increasingpressureonmicrofinanceinstitutionstoholdmarketshare."Inthiscontextofnewcompetitors,ofdifferentcompetitors,biggercompetitorsthanus,allthisfight[meansitcanbe]veryeasytolosethemission,"saidparticipantRafaelLlosa,generalmanagerofMibanco,aprivatebankinLima,Peru,thatfocusesonmicroandsmallbusinesses."Becauseyouarefightingtobetheleaderinthemarketandyouarefightingtosurvive,youstart[focusing]onotherthings."Andyet,profitsareessentialifthemicrofinanceinstitutionwantstocarryoutitsmissionofpovertyalleviation,participantssaid."Youhavetochargeinteresttocoverallexpenses,"saidMarieLouiseNsabiyumva,CEOofBurundi-basedsavingsandcreditcooperativeC.E.C.M.andvicechairoftheBurundianMicrofinanceNetwork."Otherwise,youwoulddisappear.Andthatisn'tusefulfortheclient."AddedLlosa:"Ifwearenotprofitable,wearenotsustainable.Forthatreason,it'snotanerrortohaveprofits."BuildingCoalitionsButhowmuchprofit?InAndhraPradesh,stategovernmentofficialsinOctobercitedmicrolenders'questfor"hyperprofits"asreasontoclampdownontheindustry.ManymicrofinancecompaniesinIndiaseekinvestorcapital,inpartbecauseofIndia'sbankinglaws,notedparticipantVikramJetley,chiefoperatingofficerforBangalore-basedmicrofinancecompanyUjjivan'snorthregion. Accordingtothe company'swebsite,UjjivanhascompletedfourroundsofcapitalinfusionsandplanstoofferanIPOafterthreeyearsofprofitableoperations."Wehavetwodifferentkindsofinvestors,"henoted:puresocialinvestorsandprivateequityinvestors."Asapartofourmission,wehaveclearlydefinedthatourreturnonequitywouldbeatbest15%.Sosomeonewhoislookingforareallyaggressivereturnonequitywouldnevercomewithus."Establishedin2005,UjjivanusestheGrameenmodeloflendingtogroupsofwomenborrowersandfocusesonurbanmicrofinance.Itcurrentlyboastsa99.12%repaymentratefromitsmorethan975,000customersin20states.RegulatedbytheReserveBankofIndiaas"Non-BankingFinancialCompanies,"microfinanceinstitutionssuchasUjjivanmustmaintainaminimumcapitaladequacyratiobutcannottakedeposits,accordingtoJetley."Sowehavetogotothecapitalmarkets.Otherwisewewillneverbeabletoscaleup."AccordingtoNarasimhanSrinivasan,authorof"StateoftheSectorMicrofinanceIndia2010,"thenumberofmicroloansinAndhraPradeshnowamountstoalmost10timesthenumberofpoorhouseholdsinthestate.ButSrinivasanalsoreportsthatnotallloanscamefrommicrofinanceinstitutions.BorrowersinAndhraPradeshcanalsogetcreditfromtheSelfHelpGroup(SHG)program,agovernmentpovertyalleviationprogramfundedinpartbytheWorldBankthatoffersmicroloansatbelow-marketrates.Srinivasanfoundthatone-thirdofloansdistributedinAndhraPradeshweregivenoutbymicrofinanceinstitutions,whiletwo-thirdsweregiventoborrowersintheSHGprogram."TheAndhraPradeshcrisishappenedbecausethegovernmenthasbeengoingthereandpromisinga3%rateofinterestwhilemyrateofinterestevenonourdebtfundingis12%,"saidJetley."Howcanyousurvive?ThisisnotanIndiaproblem;it'sonestate'sproblem.Itisnotcascadingtootherstates."OversimplifyingthechallengesinAndhraPradeshandpaintingtheentiremicrofinanceindustrywiththesamebroadbrushwillnothelpfindcreativesolutionsgoingforward,saidparticipantGeorgetteJean-Louis,CFOofFonkoze,themicrofinanceinstitutioninPort-au-Prince,Haiti."Ithinkthesectorrightnowisatriskbecauseeverybodyistryingtotakewhathappenedinonepart[oftheworld]andsayitisthesamethingthatishappeninginPeru,inHaiti,inTaijikistanorinsomepartofAfrica,"Jean-Louisstated."Yes,thereisaproblem[with]whathappenedinIndia.Wehavetolearnfromit,wehavetostudyit,inordertopreventitfromhappeningineverypartoftheworld....Butatthesametime,youhavetolookatthecontext.Youhavetolookattheenvironment.Youhavetolookatwhathappenedandstudyitinsteadofglobalizing[itandtreatingitas]thesamemonsterthatishappeningtoyou." Everycountryisdifferent,sheadded,andsolutionsmustaccountforthedifferencesandinvolveeveryone."Therearelotsofstakeholders.Governmenthasto playitsrole.Microfinancehastoplayitsrole.Theinvestorshavetoplayarole.Andthenwecanfindasolution."TherecentdevelopmentsinAndhraPradeshandotherhotspotshavebroughtindustryleaderstogethertoexplorewaystolimitthepotentialforoverlendinginthefuture,saidWomen'sWorldBanking'sMurray."Thesectorhastodothisandbuildcoalitions.Itmustalsoengageinself-regulation.However,thiswillonlyworkuptoapoint.Legalregulationwilllikelyberequired,butthisneedstobedoneinawaythatenablesgrowth." Theindustryisfocusingheavilyonfindingwaystomeasuresocialimpact,andsettingindustrystandardsbywhichmicrofinanceinstitutionscanself-regulate.Organizationsarealsopushingproductdiversification:Afteryearsofextendingcredit,manymicrofinanceinstitutionsarguethatothertypesoffinancialservicescouldhaveanevengreaterimpactthanloans.Savingsaccounts,forexample,wouldgivepoorhouseholdsasafeplacetostoreemergencyfunds.Insuranceproductswouldhelpthemmanagerisk.InastudyinMorocco,Women'sWorldBankingfoundthatwomenborrowerstendedtosetaside40%oftheirincomesforhealthemergencies,Murraypointedout."It'sprettyeasytoarguethatspending20%onaninsurancepremiumandtheother20%oninvestinginbusinesstogetoutofpoverty"couldbeabetteroptionlong-term,shesaid.Andgrowth--forbothborrowersandlenders--iswhatmicrofinanceinstitutionssaytheywant."Webelievethere'satremendousfutureformicrofinance...ifyoufocusonhavinganimpactattheclientlevelandthehouseholdlevel,creatingservicesthatwillenablepoorpeopletomakebetterchoicesforhowtousetheirmoney,"Murrayadded."We'reabsolutelyoptimisticthatthemicrofinancesectorisheretostay."ProblemsinAndhraPradeshandotherhotspotsare"essentiallyalotofgrowingpains.Thekeyisnottothrowthebabyoutwiththebathwater."来源《KnowledgeWharton》February2nd2011 中文译文：小额信贷业发展阵痛近期的小额信贷危机源于印度南部城市安得拉邦，当地过度负债、暴力催款和借款者被迫自杀等问题引发了民众对小额信贷行业的广泛指责，并强烈呼吁政府加强监管。10月，印度政府对损害信贷、强行控制回款天数并拖累印度最大的盈利性小额信贷公司SKS股价暴跌的小额信贷机构实施管制。1月19日，印度储备银行发布Malegam委员会报告，建议对印度小额信贷机构施加一系列新的监管措施，包括设置利率上限、贷款限额以及对借款人的收入进行规定。有些观察家对此表示欢迎，而悲观人士则认为此举难以避免信贷紧缩和行业崩溃。尽管现在要分析行业前景还为时尚早，但安得拉邦的危机着实引发了民众对全球小额信贷行业的热烈讨论和深刻反省。近期在沃顿阿瑞斯高级管理教育学院小额信贷管理培训班上，讨论的焦点集中在过度信贷、高速的行业增长以及如何在追求利润的同时更好地实现小额信贷的设立宗旨。小额信贷业经历了一场由坏账“大地震”所引发的“痛苦的觉醒”，26名来自全球各地的社会财富计划参与者之一KamranAzim在一堂主题为小额信贷业的增长与可持续发展的讨论中如此比喻道。Azim是创立于1996年的巴基斯坦拉合尔小额信贷机构Kashf基金的运营总监。他指出，过去20到30年间，小额信贷的方式方法几乎都没有发生过变化。但现在，突然之间，这个行业经历了一场地震。正如该培训计划中一门课程的导言所说：“面对不断加速的变革，人们趋向于依赖传统的方式进行商业发展。然而，正是在这样的时刻，创新方显得尤为重要。”此外，几名学员也指出，小额信贷行业必须在兼顾客户需求的同时通过创新的方式来巩固发展。对于部分小额信贷机构而言，他们亟待补充的是诸如尽职调查、可持续发展和关注客户等基本商业知识。过度负债的效应现代小额信贷活动发源于1977年孟加拉国。当时经济学教授穆罕默德·尤努斯发起了一项实验，向难以获得传统银行贷款的穷人提供小额无担保贷款。之后的三十年内，尤努斯教授创建的模式被人们所广泛接受，并被许多国家复制，作为对抗贫困的方式。小额信贷自此在全球范围内广为传播，尤努斯教授也因此而在2006年获得诺贝尔奖。然而，近年内，愈加激烈的业内竞争以及全球经济走低让借款人和小额信贷机构双双陷入困境。随着越来越多的商业银行和盈利性企业进入市场、股东提高投资，部分市场开始过度饱和，借款人所得到的资金也大大超出其信用水平。现在，小额信贷机构开始寻求持续增长、降低风险的途径。 “我们正处于一个紧张的局势之下，既要保证可持续发展，又要兼顾社会影响”，Fonkoze公司执行董事CarineRoenen表示：“如果无法平衡这两者之间的关系，事情就会变得非常糟糕。”Fonkoze小额信贷公司位于海地首都太子港，是一家真正的草根企业。目前，Fonkoze是海地最大的小额信贷机构，但它也曾经面临过类似的尴尬处境。2008年，飓风致使其三分之一的客户遭受严重损失。Fonkoze公司通过对现有贷款进行重组，帮助客户渡过难关。自2010年1月海地大地震以来，Fonkoze公司已经提供了上千次的现金补助，新增贷款超过一万笔。同时，该公司还设立了小额灾难保险计划。“小额信贷一直被奉为有益于人民的产物，尤其是在尤努斯教授获得诺贝尔奖之后”，Roenen指出，“但是现在安得拉邦的情况让大家对小额信贷产生了负面的看法…我们应该可以从中得到一些教训。公众认为也期待我们能够为社会贡献价值。但我们需要更好地沟通这一理念。”过去三年内，过度负债问题引发了一系列的危机和抗议活动。据沃顿商学院社会财富计划的另一名参与者、纽约妇女世界银行行政副总裁InezMurray指出，这些活动包括：2008年尼加拉瓜“不付款”(NoPago)运动引发了大范围的违约和暴力抗议，致使当地小额信贷业遭受危机；摩洛哥小额信贷业遭遇大量违约，导致当地最大的小额信贷机构之一倒闭；波斯尼亚在战后恢复期内过度发展信贷，在根本没有足够客户的情况下，却出现了大量小额信贷机构。产生以上种种情况的根本原因不尽相同，但都十分复杂：恶性竞争——例如，互相争夺优质客户——以及缺乏完善的尽职调查而一味追求快速扩张；通过当地政治力量操纵客户；此外还有宏观经济的疲软。小额信贷“有自己的生态系统，”Murray表示，“太过成功就会导致更多资金流入，自然也就会孳生更多风险”。同样参与社会财富计划的MavsudaVaisova则与大家分享了塔吉克斯坦过度负债的负面影响，她曾在位于杜尚别的小额信贷基金HumoandPartners担任总监。2005年，该公司仅有19位员工，而发展至今，已经拥有11家分支机构，260名员工，10，000名客户以及550万美金的帐户规模。在部分国家，过度负债的问题被归咎于信息缺乏：在缺乏信用体系或正规的身份证明的情况下，贷款人难以判断借款人的信用历史或是否已经有其他贷款。但据Vaisova表示，塔吉克斯坦的情况却并不是这样。这个国家拥有完善的客户信息交换系统，因此小额信贷公司可以很清楚地知道客户是否已经有负债。“他们可以看到某个客户已经在其他贷款公司借了几笔款项，是否已经偿清。但是，急于扩张的欲望让这些公司不顾一切，依然为客户进行贷款。”既然有机可乘，大多数借款人当然乐得拿到更多的钱。“人们无法正确地评估自己的贷款需求。他们只是一味的借钱，借钱，借钱——最终导致自己无力偿还。” 而许多国家的传统商业银行也开始发起攻势，为了保持市场份额，小额信贷公司不得不面临越来越大的压力。“这些新的竞争者不同于一般的竞争者，他们的规模远远大于我们，面对这样强大的对手，我们很容易就输掉这场战争，”Mibanco公司总经理、社会财富计划的参与者之一RafaelLlosa表示，“当你希望成为市场中的领导者，为生存而不断抗争时，你就会开始关注其他的事情。”Mibanco是一家位于秘鲁利马的私人银行，主要客户为微型和小型企业。然而，社会财富计划的参与者们认为如果小额信贷机构希望继续为缓解贫困做出贡献，就不得不考虑利润问题。建立联盟但是多少才算利润？拿安得拉邦来说，去年10月份，该国政府官员就将小额信贷机构追求“超额利润”作为打压这一行业的理由。印度的许多小额信贷公司之所以寻求投资者的资金，部分原因是印度的银行法所致，班加罗尔小额信贷公司Ujjivan北区首席运营官、社会财富计划参与者VikramJetley表示。据公司网站信息显示，Ujjivan已经完成了四轮资本输入，并且在连续三年盈利后，正在筹备上市计划。“现在，大家都把一个地方发生的事情当作是全世界都会发生的事情，认为安得拉邦的情况就是秘鲁、海地、塔吉克斯坦或是非洲其他地方的情况。我认为这将让小额信贷行业面临巨大的风险，”Jean-Louis指出，“确实，印度发生了一些问题。我们应该从中吸取教训，对问题进行研究分析，从而避免在世界上的其他地方出现同样的问题…但是与此同时，我们也应该综合地来分析。不同环境下的不同情况，具体事情具体分析，仔细研究问题，而不是将问题全球化，把任何问题都当作是一定会发生在自己身上的事情。”近期，安得拉邦的危机以及其他国家的事态发展让小额信贷行业的领导者们汇聚一堂，探索如何在未来更好地控制过度负债，Murray说道。“小额信贷行业必须面对现实，建立联盟，同时还需要加强自我监管。然而，这将是一个循序渐进的过程。这其中，我们可能还需要引入法律监管，但前提是，监管不能妨碍增长。”小额信贷行业重点关注的领域在于如何衡量社会影响，建立行业标准从而让企业能够实现自我监管。同时，小额信贷企业还在追求产品多样化：经过多年的贷款经验，许多小额信贷机构认为其他类型的金融服务甚至可能会比贷款带来更大的影响。例如，储蓄账户可以给穷人们一个安全的存放紧急备用资金的选择。而保险产品则可以帮助他们管理风险。根据在摩洛哥开展的一项研究，妇女世界银行发现妇女借款人倾向于将收入的40%作为健康紧急备用资金，Murray指出。“从这一点来说，这些妇女可以将20%的资金作为保费，剩下20%的资金用于投资。长期来说，这可能是让她们摆脱贫困的更好的选择。” 译文出处《沃顿知识》杂志2011年2月2日