Governing Banks: MFI Edition
Part 1: Risk Governance
Published: 2013
In response to the global financial crisis that began in 2007, the International Finance Corporation (IFC)’s Global Corporate Governance Forum (the “Forum”) developed a supplement to the Corporate Governance Board Leadership Training Resources published in 2008 called Governing Banks. As part of that effort, the Forum explored the corporate governance and risk governance needs of banks’ Boards of Directors through an extensive research and review program.
In 2012, the IFC provided the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion (CFI) with permission to modify the Governing Banks supplement to be specified even further for the microfinance industry. The rapid growth of the microfinance sector in recent years has left many board members of microfinance institutions (MFIs) without an adequate understanding of the multitude of governance and risks management challenges they face. The Running with Risk project, managed by the CFI’s Investing in Inclusive Finance Team, seeks to raise awareness about the importance of effective risk governance for institutional growth and sustainability.
Governing Banks: MFI Edition builds on the work of the Forum Governing Banks team, and modifies the document to take into account the specifics of regulated microfinance institutions. This was done with the support of an Advisory Team with expertise in corporate governance, risk management, and microfinance.
