The watchdog of the International Finance Corp., the World Bank’s private lending arm, has agreed to review a complaint alleging it has caused “grave harm” by funding microcredit lenders in Cambodia.
The complaint, filed by two Cambodian NGOs on behalf of “affected borrowers,” was made public on Tuesday. It alleges that IFC loans and investments in the country’s $14 billion microcredit sector have led to human rights abuses and breached the IFC’s own performance standards.
According to the complaint, the IFC has channeled more than $400 million to six lenders in Cambodia over the past five years: ACLEDA, Hattha Bank, Sathapana, Amret, LOLC and Prasac. These six together hold about 75% of the country’s microloans.
In full: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Finance/IFC-watchdog-to-review-Cambodia-s-microcredit-lenders
