Jean-Pierre Klumppwas promoted to the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BlueOrchard Finance S.A., the Geneva-based microfinance investment advisor, on 18 August 2008. Mr Klumpp is taking over from Jack Lowe, who in turn will remain as President of BlueOrchard USA Inc. In this position, he will lead new financial services for the microfinance sector on behalf of the BlueOrchard group.
Jean-Pierre Klumpp has been acting as BlueOrchard Finance S.A.’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) since June 2007. He came to BlueOrchard from a successful career in the banking sector holding increasingly senior positions in a variety of fields. In his last position before joining BlueOrchard, he was a member of the Private Banking Executive Committee of Bank Julius Baer Ltd. in Zurich. Prior to this, he held the following executive positions: CEO of Ehinger & Armand von Ernst AG in Zurich and COO of Ferrier Lullin & Cie SA in Geneva (both private banks of the UBS group), and Chief Administrative Officer of Merrill Lynch Bank Suisse S.A. in Geneva. He started his career with the Swiss Bank Corporation (now UBS), where he held various positions in private banking administration and support, organizational consulting and application development, with postings in Geneva, New York and Basel. Jean-Pierre Klumpp holds a BA in Business Administration from the Haute Ecole de Gestion of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Jack Lowe joined BlueOrchard as its CEO in November 2004 with the mission of managing the rapid growth of the company and developing its range of products and services, as well as building up its international recognition with the institutional investor community. He has accomplished his mission with success as the company has exponentially increased its assets under management; it has widely extended its network of institutional investors; and it has proposed innovative products that have attained international recognition, such as BlueOrchard’s three structured microfinance investment vehicles. During this period, BlueOrchard Finance S.A. has opened two regional offices in North and Latin America and its staff has increased to more than 30 persons.
Further to retaining a role in the development of BlueOrchard’s services, Jack Lowe plans to devote more time to his existing personal businesses and to his philanthropic engagements.
Dexia Micro-Credit Fund receives LuxFLAG microfinance investment vehicle label again
The Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG) renewed the label delivered in 2007 to the Dexia Micro-Credit Fund.
Geneva(BlueOrchard), 24 July 2008
The Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG) renewed the label delivered in 2007 to theDexia Micro-Credit Fund.
The Dexia Micro-Credit Fund is the oldest microfinance fund in Luxembourg, with a track record going back to 1998. It is promoted by Dexia Banque International in Luxembourg (BIL) with RBC-Dexia as custodian of the fund and Dexia Asset Management as manager of the fund for liquidities. The microfinance portfolio manager is BlueOrchard Finance S.A., a Geneva based investment manager specialising in microfinance.
The purpose of the LuxFLAG label is to promote the raising of capital in microfinance by reassuring investors that the MIV really invests in microfinance. It is not a guarantee of performance nor does it constitute a recommendation to invest.
In order to obtain the Luxflag Microfinance Label, the investment vehicle must meet a number of criteria, the principal of which are that it must:
·be subject to supervision by a national regulator;
·have a microfinance portfolio corresponding to at least 50% of total assets;
·have at least 25% of its microfinance portfolio invested in MFIs rated by a microfinance rating agency recognised by Luxflag.
The Luxflag Label is intended for MIVs which have a commercial objective; the Label is currently not granted to donor entities.
The Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency is an independent entity whose Charter Members represent the private sector, the NGO sector and the State of Luxembourg. The Charter Members are the State of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg;European Investment Fund (EIF - member of the European Investment Bank Group);Luxembourg Bankers’ Association (ABBL) ; Appui au Développement Autonome (ADA) ;Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI); Financial Technology Transfer Agency (ATTF); Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
Editorial notes
BlueOrchard Finance S.A.is a Swiss company based in Geneva whose mission is to manage microfinance investment funds. It helps investors gain access to investment opportunities in the microfinance sector through a diversified range of products and services.
To do so,
BlueOrchard grants loans to leading microfinance institutions who in turn provide micro-credits and other financial services to families and small businesses with no access to regular credit providers.
For enquiries, please contact Antonella Notari Vischer, Head of Corporate Communication,
antonella.notari@blueorchard.com
or tel. +41 22 596 47 67 (during office hours except Friday afternoons).
At LuxFLAG, please contact:Daniel Daxor Saskia Ventujol, daniel.dax@alfi.lu / saskia.ventujol@luxflag.org,tel : +352 22 30 26 – 1. More details are available on LuxFLAG’s website: www.luxflag.org. This site also contains details of eligibility criteria to obtain a label and a form that can be downloaded by entities wishing to apply for the Label.
BlueOrchard Finance S.A offsets carbon emissions for 2007 in myclimate’s Indian “electricity from biomass” project
BlueOrchard has compensated 423 tons of CO2 emissions produced in 2007 by air travel and office power consumption by contributing to an Indian project of power production from biomass run under the auspices of myclimate.
Geneva(BlueOrchard), 22 July 2008
BlueOrchard Finance S.A. has compensated 423 tons of CO2 emissions produced in 2007 by its staff’s air travel and office power consumption by contributing almost SFR 16,500 to project of power production from biomass in Bihar, India, run under the auspices of the Swiss organisation for climate protection myclimate.
“As a leader in the sustainable development world, we must strive to be coherent with our social mission at all levels. This also means taking a more active part in managing our environmental impact. Compensating our carbon footprints through a renewable-energy project facilitated by a reputable organisation like myclimate is a positive way for us to assume responsibility,” says Jack Lowe, CEO of BlueOrchard Finance S.A.
In the coming years, BlueOrchard plans to include its new satellite offices in Lima, Peru and New York, USA in the calculations of the carbon off-setting programme.
BlueOrchard Finance S.A.is a Swiss company based in Geneva whose mission is to manage microfinance investment funds. It helps investors gain access to investment opportunities in the microfinance sector through a diversified range of products and services.To do so,BlueOrchard grants loans to leading microfinance institutions who in turn provide micro-credits and other financial services to families and small businesses with no access to regular credit providers.
For enquiries, please contact Antonella Notari Vischer, Head of Corporate Communication, antonella.notari@blueorchard.com or tel. +41 22 596 47 67 (during office hours except Friday afternoons).
For further information on myclimate's projects and activities see: www.myclimate.org
BlueOrchard’s Jean-Philippe de Schrevel joins World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Philanthropy and Social Investing
The council, consisting of the 15-30 most knowledgeable and authoritative personalities in the field, will address the crucial challenges of humankind to ensure that connections between global issues are fully explored.
Geneva (BlueOrchard), 22 July 2008
Jean-Philippe de Schrevel, co-founder of BlueOrchard Finance, CEO of BlueOrchard Investments and CEO of Bamboo Finance became a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Philanthropy and Social Investing .
This council, consisting of the 15 to 30 most knowledgeable and authoritative personalities in the field, is integrated into the World Economic Forum’s Network of Global Agenda Councils addressing all the crucial challenges of humankind so as to ensure that connections between global issues are fully explored. The councils will interact through WELCOM (World Electronic COMmunity) a secure online networking platform,,which will allow continuous, secured, video-based communication among global decision-makers from all walks of life.
The Network of Global Agenda Councils will have a major impact on shaping the global agenda by monitoring and prioritizing world-wide challenges, by elaborating solutions and by being available in crisis management situations. It will also act as an advisory board to the World Economic Forum and other interested parties, such as governments and international organizations.
The Inaugural Summit on the Global Agenda will be held in Dubaifrom 7 to 9 November 2008 , in partnership with the Government of Dubai.
“The World Economic Forum’s network of Global Agenda Councils represents a transformational innovation in global governance,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Forum. “The inaugural Summit on the Global Agenda in Dubai is a unique opportunity for the world’s most innovative and influential thinkers to share ideas and collaboratively develop solutions to address some of the most pressing issues on the global agenda.”
Notes to the Editors:
BlueOrchard Finance S.A.is a Swiss company based in Geneva whose mission is to manage microfinance investment funds. It helps investors gain access to investment opportunities in the microfinance sector through a diversified range of products and services.To do so,BlueOrchard grants loans to leading microfinance institutions who in turn provide micro-credits and other financial services to families and small businesses with no access to regular credit providers. As at March 31, 2008, BlueOrchard Finance S.A. managed a total loan portfolio of USD 617 million invested with more than 160 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in about 40 countries.
BlueOrchard Investmentsis managing the BlueOrchard Private Equity Fund, a new investment vehicle launched by the BlueOrchard group to make global capital investments in MFI.
Bamboo Financeis managing the Oasis Fund, a new investment vehicle making debt and equity investments in fast growth social entrepreneurs’ companies working at the sustainable delivery of essential goods and services to low income people at grassroots level in the field of energy, education, health, water access, agriculture, etc.
For enquiries, please contact Antonella Notari Vischer, Head of Corporate Communication, antonella.notari@blueorchard.com or tel. +41 22 596 47 67 (during office hours except Friday afternoons).
BlueOrchard and Morgan Stanley’s BOLD 2 obtains FT’s sustainable deal of the year award
The 2007 BlueOrchard Loan for Development, BOLD 2, was elected “Sustainable Deal of the Year” on June 3, 2008, at the FT Sustainable Banking Awards Ceremony hosted by the Financial Times and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Geneva , Switzerland (BlueOrchard Finance SA), June 4, 2008.
The 2007 BlueOrchard Loan for Development, BOLD 2, was elected “Sustainable Deal of the Year” on June 3, 2008, at the FT Sustainable Banking Awards Ceremony hosted by the Financial Times and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group. The BOLD 2 transaction is a landmark deal that has helped to broaden microfinance as an asset class for mainstream investors, while simultaneously providing credit to tens of thousands of individual borrowers at more favourable terms.
BlueOrchard Finance S.A. of Geneva, Switzerland, and Morgan Stanley launched BOLD 2 at the end of April 2007. BOLD 2 is a Collateralised Loan Obligation (CLO) of unsecured loans amounting to USD 110.2 million, of which the equivalent to USD 106.7 million were lent to 20 microfinance institutions based in 11 emerging countries (Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Colombia, Georgia, Kenya, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nicaragua, Peru, Russia).
These funds were on-lent by the microfinance institutions (MFIs) to approximately 70,000 low-income people - over half of them women - for entrepreneurial activities.
The combination of innovative structuring of the CLO and a first time rating by a major international rating agency (Standard & Poor’s) attracted a wide institutional investor base. Ground-breaking currency swaps allowed nearly 60% of the loans in BOLD 2 to be in local currencies, including Mongolian Tugrik and Peruvian New Soles, Colombian Pesos and Russian Roubles, as well as USD and EUR. Denominating loans in local currency assists MFIs with their risk management and micro-entrepreneurs with their ability to match the currency of their liabilities and revenues. All the currencies were swapped back to the currencies of the notes, in order to protect investors. The swap provider for all was Morgan Stanley, who also arranged the transaction and acted as placement agent. BlueOrchard Finance S.A. originated the loans and selected and services the MFIs.
BOLD 2007 was structured as a CLO consisting of two tranches of rated notes (AA and BBB) and two tranches of unrated notes, issued in GBP, EUR and USD. All notes have an expected maturity of 5 years.
Private investors participated in all tranches of the deal, including the unrated “equity” and mezzanine tranches, where they took some 30% and 60%, respectively. The 21 investors in BOLD 2007 include banks, insurance companies, money managers, mutual and hedge funds, and corporate accounts. 86% of the issue was placed in Europe, with the remainder in the US. The rated notes were heavily oversubscribed, signalling broad interest in microfinance from institutional investors.
Jack Lowe, CEO of BlueOrchard Finance S.A., said: “BOLD 2 was indeed a pioneering transaction, bringing microfinance closer to the mainstream of the international capital markets as a source of medium-term money at competitive rates, as well as providing large sums in local currency lending. Moreover, the first-ever rating of a microfinance investment vehicle by a reputed rating agency such as Standard and Poors was a major stride in harnessing investors to the microfinance sector. We are proud and grateful for the recognition of this exploit.”
Notes to the Editor:
BlueOrchard Finance S.A. is a Swiss company based in Geneva whose mission is to manage microfinance investment funds. It helps investors gain access to investment opportunities in the microfinance sector through a diversified range of products and services. To do so, BlueOrchard grants loans to leading microfinance institutions who in turn provide micro-credits and other financial services to families and small businesses with no access to regular credit providers. As at March 31, 2008, BlueOrchard Finance S.A. managed a total loan portfolio of USD 617 million invested with more than 160 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in about 40 countries.
Investor confidence in the microfinance sector is increasing thanks to the impressive results it produced over recent years. In a volatile environment, the microfinance sector remained stable and productive. From the inception of the company to date, BlueOrchard has allocated over 650 loans to nearly 160 institutions, of which 157 loans to 87 MFIs in 2007 alone. To this day, all loans ever made by BlueOrchard have been reimbursed without any default.
For enquiries kindly contact: Antonella Notari, head of communications, BlueOrchard, Geneva, Switzerland, tel. +41 22 596 4767, e-mail:
antonella.notari@blueorchard.com . Please also see
www.blueorchard.com .
Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management, wealth management and credit services. The firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit
www.morganstanley.com . Media Contact at Morgan Stanley : Jennifer Sala, Vice President, Corporate Communication, Morgan Stanley, New York, USA, e-mail
Jennifer.Sala@morganstanley.com , tel. +1 212 762-6885.
FT Awards for Sustainable Banking . The Financial Times and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, are sponsors of a range of yearly awards, now in their third year, that were created to recognize banks and other financial institutions that have shown leadership and innovation in integrating social, environmental and corporate governance considerations into their operations. See:
http://www.ftconferences.com/sustainablebanking
The 2007 BlueOrchard Loan for Development, BOLD 2, was elected “Sustainable Deal of the Year” on June 3, 2008, at the FT Sustainable Banking Awards Ceremony hosted by the Financial Times and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group. The BOLD 2 transaction is a landmark deal that has helped to broaden microfinance as an asset class for mainstream investors, while simultaneously providing credit to tens of thousands of individual borrowers at more favourable terms.