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Bishkek, June 18, 2009—
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is helping develop the mortgage sector in the Kyrgyz Republic and increase access to home financing for rural citizens by providing advisory assistance through the Central Asia Primary Mortgage Market Development Project.
The initiative entails working with Bai Tushum, one of the country’s leading microfinance institutions, to improve the quality of the firm’s mortgage portfolio and upgrade its mortgage-lending operations. About 60 percent of the people living in rural areas of the Kyrgyz Republic could gain access to Bai Tushum’s housing finance solutions as a result of the project.
IFC analyzed Bai Tushum’s mortgage-lending practices and developed a set of recommendations on mortgage-lending development, origination, underwriting, and servicing procedures tailored to the company’s needs. IFC fashioned its recommendations to enable Bai Tushum’s mortgage-lending transactions to conform with international best practices.
“Cooperation with IFC provided us with the opportunity to have our mortgage-lending policies and operations reviewed by highly qualified international experts,” said Gulnara Shamshieva, Bai Tushum’s CEO. “The recommendations provided will be very useful in strengthening our institutional capacity and expanding our mortgage portfolio.”
Victor Mints, IFC Project Manager responsible for CAPMMDP, said, “We believe that the recommendations will not only help Bai Tushum improve its mortgage-lending operations, but also serve as a good example for other financial institutions in the country, resulting in an increase in mortgage-lending volumes and access to housing finance for local people.”
The advisory work conducted for Bai Tushum is part of IFC’s strategy of helping the Kyrgyz government provide access to mortgage financing for low- and middle-income citizens. IFC is working on several initiatives in the country to develop a mortgage market and strengthen the institutional capacity of local financial institutions.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. IFC’s new investments totaled $16.2 billion in fiscal 2008, a 34 percent increase over the previous year. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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About Bai Tushum
Bai Tushum was established in 2000 with the support of the U.S.-based Agricultural Cooperative Development International/Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance and CARITAS, a Swiss nongovernmental organization. Bai Tushum provides microcredit services to private entrepreneurs, traders, farmers, and micro and small agricultural enterprises using individual and group lending methodologies. It has some 45,000 clients, with most of its portfolio outside the capital, Bishkek. The company operates through a regional network of seven branches and 35 sub-offices. For more information, visit
www.baitushum.kg
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