Everyone agrees that the great challenge for Peruvian microfinance is in the rural sector and that is one of the challenges for 2012. Another challenge is to continue developing financial products in accordance with the new business profile; while a third challenge is in using modern information technologies for the MFI.
This will require that Peruvian MFIs be strengthened by assets to successfully meet the challenges that await them. Apparently the fence is a little high, but not impossible to overcome.
Precisely, the rules of the Basel III Agreement, whose approaches began at the end of last year, require greater patrimonial strength. What does this agreement pose? Basically it requires a strengthening of the patrimonial situation to be able to face the risks of a very strong economic contraction, without state aid, such as that experienced in the United States and Europe.
Judging by the MFIs' financial statements, the assets are strong enough to conform to Basel III standards, which must be met first in June 2012, but implementation of the new structural capital rules will begin in January 2013. Everything will take effect in January 2015. Although it remains a standard for banks, the entities supervised by the SBS are committed in some respects to this standard.
In this sense, the adequacy to comply with the standards of the Basel III Agreement and the Peruvian institutions have provided for it and they will have no problem adjusting to the patrimonial requirements.
But what is Basel III? It is an agreement made by the governors of the central banks, at the request of the G-20 countries, which includes developed and emerging nations, to have a greater wealth in the face of financial crises such as the one experienced in the United States and Europe.
Let's do some history. It all started in 1975, when the Basel Committee was created in Switzerland, made up of representatives of the central banks of the then G-10 member countries. This committee was established with the aim of strengthening national and international financial systems against money laundering and money laundering, improving the operating practices of financial institutions and supporting the expansion of markets.
The committee generated three agreements, commonly known as Basel I, Basel II and Basel III, which regulate financial and supervisory regulations aimed at determining capital adequacies based on the risks assumed by banks. Initially, the committee's provisions were directed at member countries, but in recent years their application has been more globalized and covered emerging countries.
Basel I defined the minimum capital requirements of a bank based on the risk of its assets and the market risks that affected the institution.
For its part, the Basel II Agreement was related to the minimum capital required by a bank given the risks to which it was exposed. The level of capital was sought to be more in line with all types of risk assumed. In other words, there was a regulatory purpose that evaluates financial entities.
