Date:  2006/7   |   Country:  Global   |    Sector:  Microfinance   |   Amount in USD:  99 million / 110 million   |   Client:  Blue Orchard

While head of the Microfinance Institutions Group at Morgan Stanley, I led the two largest transactions completed in the microfinance sector, both with Blue Orchard as the asset manager.

BOLD 1 (2006) was the first microfinance collateralized loan obligation (“CLO”) transaction, funding unsecured loans to a diverse portfolio of microfinance institutions globally. The total amount raised was USD 99.1 million, and loans were disbursed to 22 MFIs, in 13 different countries, and 5 different currencies.

BOLD 2  (2007) was the first ever microfinance transaction to be rated by a mainstream ratings agency, Standard and Poor’s. The total amount of USD 110.2 million funded loans to 20 MFIs, in 12 different countries, and 3 different currencies. Morgan & Stanley managed to put together a consortium of 21 investors including banks, insurance companies, money managers, hedge funds and corporate accounts. 86% of the issue was placed in Europe, the remainder in the US.

BOLD 2 represented a “breakout” for microfinance into the mainstream capital markets, with the majority of investors being private sector institutional players.  Partly for this reason, it picked up the FT’s “Sustainable Deal of the Year” Award in 2008.

Read the Morgan Stanley press release

BlueOrchard Loans for Development Obtains FT’s Sustainable Deal of the Year Award