Regulation and Supervision

The 2018 Q1 MetLife & U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index rose to 66.3, up three points from Q4. A turnaround in confidence in the direction of the national economy contributed to the boost, making it the fourth consecutive quarterly rise and the largest increase on the Index record. This means 66.3% of small business owners have a positive outlook about their company and the small business environment in the United States.

1741 Fund Management and global SME marketplace lender Bitbond today announced the launch of a new Alternative Investment Fund (AIF). The fund gives professional investors access to the performance of a diversified portfolio of small business loans that are originated through the Bitbond SME lending platform.

This is the ninth annual report on China’s MSME finance development, produced by a team led by Shi Jianping and Yang Rubing of the Central University of Finance and Economics. The report provides a comprehensive review on the development of the so-called Micro and Small Finance (MSF) market in China, meaning financial services to Small and Micro Enterprises (MSEs), unincorporated but registered urban businesses and MSE owners. As the Chinese Medium Enterprises are relatively large, this definition corresponds more or less to the international understanding of MSME finance.

Over the past decade, financial consumer protection has become an increasingly mainstream priority. A strong consumer protection regime is key to ensuring that expanded access to financial services benefits consumers, enabling them to make well-informed decisions on how best to use financial services, building trust in the formal financial sector, and contributing to healthy and competitive financial markets. The global financial crisis of 2008 highlighted the importance of financial consumer protection for the long-term stability of the world financial system.

Based on the results of this analysis, the researchers present a prioritised strategy for action that assists investors, stakeholders, and policy actors in directing their resources towards generating the greatest impact for entrepreneurs in the country.

One of their recommendations, based on the GEDI model and GEDI policy tool, is to improve the financing of SME and entrepreneurs by engaging in bank reform, mobile banking and crowdfunding for all South Africans.