Reason for Concern?

[Guest]

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[AGullen]

So I made my very first loan in February, and it was dispersed in the beginning of March (http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=4632). I have made a number of other loans, some of which have already begun to repay. In her page it states that she intends to make monthly payments. Since its been three months since the loan was disbursed is there a high possibility of default here? What do you guys think?...

[Spartan]

Hmm.... Phone card business - I would not have support such an endeavor. I dont know about the business where she lives but here in Japan all the people I have met that are doing it are exploiting others and are one step short of scam operators in my opinion. The card business sort of put me in mind of prepaid  900 numbers. 

[AccountAbility]

I don't know about this particular business, but I have had a number of loans go for a few months without payment and then get a burst of payments all at once.  Sometimes this has more to do with such things as transportation than about the borrower's ability to repay.  I do notice that quite a few of the loans from this MFI are one month or more late.

[mccoy]

Yeah, Jackline looks a bit sketchy. Whenever I see a picture of someone looking at the camera too suggestively, I take my money elsewhere.

 

[AGullen]

Haha, yeah, thanks guys for your input. It was my first loan and I didn't really put a ton of thought into it to be honest, I just wanted to get my first loan out there! Hopefully your right AccountAbility in that she might still be able to pay it back. We'll see.

[cpbailey]

I find that there are patterns in a given organization's loans.  For example, some like in Ecuador and Moldova are very punctual.  One of Mexico's may go over 45 days on a 3-6 month loan with no payment and then pay 2/3 at 60 days.  (I suspect there might be a 30 day interest payment as the interest rate is very high there)   Given that this is a fairly new partner, it is hard to tell if there is an extended wait or if it like some of my loans in Africa--funded in December and only one payment in January...nothing more.

I now look more closely at the partner's payback results, and I don't go for newer partners. 

Phone cards may be used differently in Africa.  In some areas, not everyone has a phone.  It may be the way to use a public phone.

[Marley]

Have you considered sending an email to the MFI responsible for placing the loan? If nothing else, I think they would be very interested to know that at least one of thier funders is following this loan closely and would like them to be accountable. Part of what KIVA is looking to do with these newer, less well established MFIs is to give them an opportunity to prove thier loan worthiness, just as they are doing with the individual clients, by direct experience. Let us know if you're successful in making contact.

[AGullen]

I will look into that and let you know.

[AGullen]

Just a quick update: Just today a large payment of slightly over half the loan amount was recieved ($252 on a $1,000 loan) http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=4632 . I hadn't gotten around to contacting the partner, but maybe this is how they do business; wait until someone's business gets established and then collect payments. I'm not really sure. Either way, it's good to see that this business is apparently healthy. Thank you all for your input.

- Adam

[Ramón]

It's actually a quarter of the $1000 loan, 3 months into a 12-15 months loan period. So I guess she's on-time, now, right?
It would be interesting for the MFI to note the payback schedule for loans, so we can compare if it's on time. Not all loans are paid back weekly or monthly (or quarterly), some, especially agricultural loans, tend to pay back more after the harvest is complete.

--Ramón