This paper aims to analyse Italian MFIs social performance according to the core set of common indicators and framework developed by the Social Performance Task Force using data collected by Fondazione Giordano Dell’Amore and Fondazione Risorsa Donna in 2008 for the European Microfinance...

This paper compares the loans granted to male and female entrepreneurs by a French microfinance institution (MFI). The sample period is split in two: before and after the MFI implemented France's regulatory EUR 10,000 loan ceiling. In the first period, the MFI does not co-finance projects with...

Starting from the structural model developed by Merton (1974) and the derived notion of distance-to-default, we study the determinants of credit default swap (CDS) spreads for a sample of European banks over a period from January 2006 to December 2011. In particular, we test variables that are...

Banks cut dividends with great reluctance, as if addicted to them. Their apparent addiction is a major cause of concern for regulators because it could endanger the whole banking system. However, banks may be rational in maintaining elevated dividends if agency costs are high and dividends...

This paper is the first to draw a global picture of worldwide microfinance equity by taking full advantage of daily quoted prices. We revisit previous findings showing that investors should consider microfinance as a self-standing sector. Our results are threefold. First, microfinance has become...

En Afrique subsaharienne, les zones agricoles et rurales abritent plus de trois quarts de la population et contribuent pour la grande part à l’emploi, au PIB, aux recettes d’exportations et à l’offre alimentaire. Dès lors, le financement des activités qui se développent dans ces zones...

This paper identifies factors that explain why microfinance institutions are reaching more clients in some countries than in others. To that end, the paper applies a cross-country analysis on a unique dataset covering 115 countries. Results indicate that the microfinance sector is more present...