Benchmarking Latin American Microfinance: A Report from the Microfinance Information Exchange

This report seeks to compare the performance of Latin American microfinance to other regions by comparing performance indicators for Latin American microfinance institutions (MFIs) against MFIs worldwide. The paper finds that:

• At the global level Latin American MFIs have more assets, leverage more equity and attract more commercial investment than MFIs in other regions;
• Latin American MFIs reach fewer clients and achieve marginal returns;
• Latin American MFIs are becoming more commercial, as loan portfoloios are increasingly funded through commercial financing (especially through savings), and operating expenses are decreasing as many MFIs become more efficient.