some of the most interesting things I have heard people around Yunus say

There is always plenty of local money if you look for it hard enough - possible lesson youth in greece should demand the church refinances greek's debt; it owns far and away enough property to do so and its staff currently lead the pension mess in greece that is disnivesting in youth; and I have always assumed that community generation is a core reason for church

if schools taught young people 3 literaccies then big banks wouldnt so easily be able to do the harm they have done to so many people

what is credit for - it shouldnt be for conspicious consumption - that can only trap you in debt; it should be for helping you income generate

what are savings for - diferent stages in life when you may either need to change how you income generate or make an investment of your own like bringing up a family; this suggests that you need banks designed round purpose of compounding long term win-win-win returns not speculative plays; this also suggests you should look for banks that invest in organisations whose leaders are wholly responsible for communities that will matter most to you and yours 

what is insurance for - it should be the most social of all financial products and the one whise mutual equity needs to be least influenced by lawyers; it should transparently compensate people who suffer ill fortune

Perhaps the simplest way to introduce myself is to say that Dr Yunus is a great hero of mine and my father who wrote at The Economist for 40 years. I have visited Yunus 8 times in Dhaka including 4 times since his troubles began. My family have helped provide the loans needed to start up the Journal of Social Busienss edited by Adam Smith scholars in Glasgow and a web that ultimately aims to get 3000 youth to corepond on their most exciting actions of the 2010s www.youthandyunus.com . Both of these were conceived with yunus from last summer onwards when my family was also the main sponsor of a yunus event in Glasgow where 25 people presented their (often local practices) on community banking and social business

In dad's last few years he believed Bangladesh was as important a nation (entrepreneurial peoples) for the netgen world of 2010s to heroise as Japan was in the early 1960s - one of my dad's original campaigns, and from which we can deduce that The Emperors of Japan are latently as much a supporter of microeconomists as eg Queen Sofia. Dad's last articles clarified why  the whole global financial system would serially collapse through 2010s unless true microcredit (and the new mobile economies of www.bankabillion.org) were actionably understood by any influential economist or journalist as well as country leaders (France's, Spain's and Poland's being most hopeful out of Europe)

Of many global muddles that have spiralled recently, the attitude of India both to microcredit and to Yunus is critical to the future of Yunus in my opinion. It is from this perspective that I would love to know more about what the Indian government is doing and indeed who is taking responsibility for this legislation. Is there a single best web or community to relate to in order to keep in track of this?

 My dad also rated Manmohan Singh highly as a sustainable sort of economist partly because they shared the same tutors in Cambridge. Another Indain hero of mine is former President Kalam who seems to be up for trying to help youth change the sustainability of education. Historically both Singh and Kalam have appeared to support Yunus though this year has been a real test of who will always support yunus and who only does so while it is politically or media expedient

If there is anyone in India who might want to make sure the Journal of Social Business features optimal views of India on Microcredit they should contact dr yunus lifelong friend zasheem directly

Finally, by accuident by maternal grandfather a Barrister from the bar of London worked with Gandhi in Mumbai over 25 years - his last job was to write up the legalese of India's Independence

chris macrae  www.grameenworldbank.com

washington dc 1-301 881 1655 skype chrismacraedc

EU supports social business

European Commission president meets Yunus

Strengthening social business and promoting innovative methods of accessible finance are not only a matter of justice but also a concrete way to help the poorest of the poor, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso has said.

He said social business is also “a smart investment in our shared future. The European Commission will therefore continue its substantial aid to microcredit projects across the globe.”

The European Commission president made the remarks after a meeting with Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus at his office in Strasbourg in France on Wednesday, said a statement from Yunus Centre yesterday.

They talked about the role of the EU in promoting microcredit and social business across the world. Prof Yunus thanked Barroso for his support for social business that could be a concrete way to solve social problems around the globe.

The two also discussed the introduction of appropriate laws and regulations in the European Parliament that would support social business.

After the meeting, Barroso told the press: "I would like to express the EU's recognition for the successful work of Prof Yunus, whose tireless commitment deserves our profound respect.”

Yunus also attended a session in the European Parliament. The president of the parliament interrupted the parliament proceedings to announce the presence of Yunus as a distinguished guest. The parliament greeted him with a big applause.

Later, he was received by Parliament President Jerzy Buzek in the latter's chamber. In a statement Buzek said: "Microcredit should be supported around the world. I would like to welcome in particular the microcredit facilities in Bangladesh -- the native country of Prof Yunus.”

Buzek, also former Polish prime minister, praised the concept of social business, pioneered by Prof Yunus, and hoped to work on ways to help new partners connect with social business.

He invited the Grameen Bank founder to Poland to introduce social business to the business leaders in his country with an offer to organise the tour.

(remember manmohan singh may be he is a world class microeconomist)

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India to regulate microfinance

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The government’s proposed bill to bring the `22,000-crore microfinance industry under the regulation of a single entity — the Reserve Bank of India — has been widely welcomed, both by the industry and the public at large. In fact, the biggest listed name in the industry welcomed the move and saw its shares jump by 20 per cent on the day the proposed bill was announced. The government has invited comments on the bill from the public and will finalise it after taking these into account. Bringing the industry under one regulator was a long-felt need because if each state has its own rules and regulations, the situation can be pretty chaotic. The Reserve Bank deputy governor, Mr K.C. Chakrabarty, had said a few days earlier: “If we don’t act under a common set of regulations (for the microfinance industry), it won’t be practical to work. Five states having five different laws on the same subject will have practical difficulties for the industry.” Till a Central law is in place, the Andhra-type situation can arise again, and this will nullify whatever the RBI is trying to do to bring some order, he pointed out. AP is a classic example: the state government had passed an ordinance that contained stringent regulations for the industry to follow. Not surprisingly, it was up in arms as it was unable to collect crores of rupees from borrowers. The AP government, however, was not wrong to enact such an ordinance — its move had followed complaints about the use of muscle power against those who had failed to pay back loans, and subsequent suicides by borrowers who could not pay up. There was also a considerable amount of misuse of funds as borrowers in some cases had used the loans to pay back others from whom they had borrowed money, something called “evergreening” in banking terminology. This was far removed from the original concept of microfinance — as developed by its pioneer, Bangladesh’s Nobel Prize-winning Grameen Bank founder Muhammed Yunus, popularly known as the father of microfinance. The industry was accused of borrowing cheap from the banks and lending at exorbitant rates — of between 30 to even 60 per cent. It was not even sure if the borrowers, who were predominantly women, were really made financially independent or were able to have a sustainable business such as vegetable vending, which was the principal objective of microfinancing. It is to be hoped that the new bill will also provide for the independent monitoring of end users of loans — as it is absolutely vital for the borrowers to be made financially stable. Microfinance is in a way the device which can make possible “inclusive growth” — the mantra of both the Reserve Bank and the UPA government. The argument that the microfinance industry had tried to make was that it was being targeted by politically powerful moneylenders, who had a thriving business until the MFI firms came along. There may or may not be any truth in this, and it is for the government to act against usurious moneylenders. But this certainly cannot be used to justify the way some of the microfinance companies have behaved. This bill will hopefully go a long way in regularising the industry and in laying down guidelines so that the industry is able to fulfil its true objective — of helping the urban and rural poor as well as the disadvantaged. It gives the RBI the power to register microfinance companies and set benchmark and performance standards for the entire industry to follow.