Benchmarking Microfinance in Guatemala 2005

This edition of Benchmarking report focuses on the performance of Guatemalan MFIs using the lens of the industry standard indicators and comparing them in local and regional peer groups. The report provides some of the features of the Guatemalan MFIs:

• Majority of the MFIs in Guatemala operate under the legal status of NGOs / PDOs (non governmental organizations or private development organizations);
• The industry combines the presence of a group of young and efficient MFIs with a median age of 6 years and another group of mature MFIs;
• The importance of the microfinance sector in Guatemala has increased in recent years due to the strong growth of their loan portfolio at 36% in 2004 and 46% in 2005.

The report analyzes the performance of Guatemalan MFIs comparing them with the rest of Central America and Latin America and the Caribbean on the basis of:

• Scale and outreach: scale is notably low;
• Financial structure: attract less commercial funding and are less leveraged;
• Profitability and sustainability: these vary by peer group;
• Revenue: obtain proportionally lower revenues than the rest of the region;
• Expense: exhibit a low total expense ratio;
• Efficiency and productivity: exhibit mixed efficiency indicators;
• Portfolio quality: present low portfolio quality indicators.

Finally the report states that:

• Guatemalan MFIs stand out for their market depth with respect to Central America and the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean;
• However, they tend to be less profitable and show mixed efficiency indicators compared to the rest of the region.