navigate_nextMedianavigate_nextOur Newsnavigate_nextCGAP Financial Transparency Award 2005

ACLEDA Bank Plc Winning the CGAP Financial Transparency Award 2005

June 07, 2006

CGAP Financial Transparency Award 2005

Phnom Penh, June 07, 2006—ACLEDA Bank Plc was presented CGAP Financial Transparency Award 2005. In a worldwide competition for transparency awards that attracted 175 entries, three out of five top winners and four other institutions earned certificates of merit are from Cambodia. We should extremely proud of our achievement that Cambodian MFIs are leading the way on global standards of transparency.

CGAP—the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor—is a resource center for the entire microfinance industry that is housed at the World Bank. CGAP is a consortium of 33 public and private development agencies, including IFC, and it is committed to building more inclusive financial systems that work for the poor. Among others, CGAP sets standards, offers technical and advisory services, and provides training and information on the best practices. It also provides funding for innovative project. At the Sea Island Summit in 2004, the G8 called on CGAP to lead a global initiative on microfinance and endorsed CGAP's Key Principles of Microfinance.

Applicants were judged according to their compliance with international disclosure guidelines, including industry-specific CGAP Disclosure Guidelines and widely accepted International Financial Reporting Standard. ACLEDA Bank Plc has been awarded the top award for achieving highest standards of this competition's criteria for transparency in annual financial reporting. We hope that our success in this competition is a significant contribution to the development of the microfinance sector's reporting standards, and would become an example and inspiration for others, to pursue excellence in comprehensive financial reporting.

Mr. In Channy, General Manager of ACLEDA Bank receives CGAP Award from Mr. Adam Sack, General Manager of IFC-MPDF

"Transparency is very important for all stakeholders. Government regulators need reliable financial information to ensure that MFIs are managed properly, and minimize risks to depositors. Investors need this information to decide whether or not to invest in an MFI, and then to monitor their investment. Transparency is important too for MFI clients. Clients need to understand exactly how much money they must repay. This means disclosing not only interest rates but all other costs associated with the loan" said Mr. Adam Sack, General Manager, International Finance Corporation-Mekong Private Sector Development Facility.

He also mentioned that "Ensuring that MFIs are well-managed is crucial. They are often the only source of financial services for poorer people other than money lenders. Greater transparency leads to better managed MFIs and can stimulate competition between MFIs. Ultimately, this results in better quality and sustainable financial services at better prices. It also helps to extend services to people who previously had none. Because we in IFC and IFC-MPDF know the crucial role that microfinance can play in reducing poverty, we have been supporting MFI development in Cambodia for a number of years. We began by providing technical assistance to ACLEDA when it was transforming from an NGO to a commercial enterprise. IFC's equity in ACLEDA helped it to attract other international investors and now ACLEDA is one of Cambodia's largest banks and the bank with the widest outreach. ACLEDA is the only bank in Cambodia to have been rated by an international rating agency, and Moody's gave it a financial strength rating that is higher than all the banks in Indonesia, and better than most in Thailand."