Solidarity funds

Dexia Micro-Credit Fund
In 1998, Dexia Banque Internationale à Luxembourg created the SICAV Dexia Micro-Credit Fund, the first commercial investment fund designed to refinance microfinance institutions specialized in financial services to small companies in emerging markets.

Dexia Micro-Credit Fund represents a new class of assets that combines a dimension of considerable social impact with an attractive risk/return profile.

Investors in the fund (retail banking customers, large investors, funds of funds) are attuned to the concept of socially responsible investment and cooperation between the North and South hemispheres.

It is active in 19 developing countries in Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe and finances 30 institutions. This number should increase, for the fund targets a growing number of microentrepreneurs and stable institutions, which are also multiplying.

Microfinance portfolio of Dexia Asset Management
To manage its microfinance portfolio, Dexia Asset Management relies on the Swiss firm BlueOrchard Finance, specialized in managing assets of this type.

BlueOrchard selects the microfinance institutions through a comprehensive network of contacts in multilateral development institutions, national cooperation agencies, and non-governmental organizations working in the field. On the basis of BlueOrchard's evaluation the financing committee decides to invest or not.

If so, the institution reports on a monthly basis over the whole life of the investment and it is visited every year. Selection criteria are always based on an analysis of the quality and pertinence of the work of each microfinance institution.