$110,000 to Support Innovation in Microfinance

With Citi’s 2012 support, MAF will be able to take Lending Circles to the next level—to increase social loan volume and expand affiliate programs so that more communities across California can access the unique benefits of this innovative microfinance program.

Citi has been a key supporter of Mission Asset Fund's innovative social lending model, Lending Circles, since day one. Originally piloted in San Francisco’s Mission district, the Lending Circles model organizes social loans within low-income communities in an effort to overcome financial exclusion. Lending Circles enables previously unbanked or underbanked individuals with no credit, bad credit or thin credit to access a legitimate, interest-free loan that opens up the doors to financial mainstream.

“With a 0% default rate, the Lending Circles model demonstrates that everyone brings something of value to the table. Without Citi's’s ongoing support, we would not have been able to service over $1,000,000 in social loans among low-income individuals. We would not have been able to build the credit scores of over 750 low-income participants," says Jose Quinonez, MAF's Executive Director.

In addition to supporting Lending Circles, Citi is also supporting a community-based participatory research project on prepaid cards to determine the effects on fee disclosures.