Status update on Admic from Kiva Staff on December 7th, 2010:

In the middle of 2009, Kiva became aware of operational fraud at Admic Nacional that had a detrimental effect on Admic's portfolio quality. Kiva paused Admic and reached out to the organization. Working together with Admic Nacional's new management team, Kiva learned about the scope of the fraud and the new management team that had taken over and improved the flawed internal controls that existed earlier.

In order to faciliate recovery of lender funds, Kiva restructured Admic's debt, allowing the organization to pay the $49,889 owed to Kiva lenders in equal installments over a 24 month period. Admic made several payments in the subsequent months, but eventually was unable to make additional payments due to ongoing cash flow problems.

Kiva continued to work to obtain the oustanding balance owed to Kiva. Unfortunately, the new management team struggled to turn the organization around and eventually was forced to liquidate. From the liquidation, Kiva was able to recuperate ~10% of the outstanding capital of $43,653 that Admic owed Kiva lenders.

After the liquidation, the outstanding balance owed to Kiva was $39,287.75. At this point, a third party organization voluntarily decided to step in and independently repay Kiva lenders for the remaining capital. This organization, MATT (Mexicans and Americans Thinking Together), had been a partner with Admic and had initially introduced Admic to Kiva. MATT took this step because they did not want Kiva lenders to suffer a loss, since it was due to the mismanagement of a field partner, rather than the mismanagement by borrowers funded through Kiva.

Kiva would like to thank MATT, along with the many Kiva lenders who made a total of 3,311 loans to Admic Nacional borrowers. Over the lifetime of the partnership, Kiva lenders raised $1,683,000 to support Mexican entrepreneurs. Of this amount, 99.83% has been paid back to date. There are $598 remaining in arrears, across four loans; these loans will be repaid in full on December 15th, at which point 100% of all loans to Admic Nacional borrowers will have been fully repaid.

Kiva would like to thank its lenders for their patience throughout this lender recovery process.

Status update on Admic from Kiva Staff on August 5, 2010: Admic Nacional's delinquency rate is currently 38.41%. We are continuing to work to obtain the oustanding balance owed to Kiva ($39,317).

When problems develop with partners, Kiva will work to either resolve the problem, negotiate a settlement with partners or work within the local country's laws to recover lender funds. Due to the nature of microfinance, with small loans that are generally uncollateralized, recovering debt when problems arise is very difficult. However, we have had success in negotiating settlements and working to recover lender funds. To better share our track record with the Kiva community, we are currently working on a report on the various recovery efforts that Kiva has made or is committing resources to pursue.

When a problem develops with a partner, we aim to be as transparent as possible while also working to safeguard lender funds. However, those two goals are sometimes at odds. When forced to choose between transparency and safeguarding lender funds, Kiva will generally choose to safeguard lender funds.

That said, our focus on safeguarding lender funds doesn't mean we can't say anything at all during the process. We are working to improve communications throughout the process of resolving problems with partners. It could just be as simple a matter of saying, "It has been one month since our last update and we are still working with our partner to resolve the situation." Or, "Kiva's Regional Director personally visited the partner last month. Progress is being made, but we aren't able to share updates at this time."

Along these lines, Kiva is currently working on a general list of communication guidelines for when there are problems with a partner, as part of a larger effort to improve communication with our lenders. It is our hope that this will improve the frequency and value of updates throughout the problem resolution process.

In the meantime, regarding Admic Nacional: we are not currently able to pass along any new information beyond what was in our last update. But please rest assured that all of our efforts are designed to maximize our chances of safeguarding and recovering lender funds. In the meantime, we will continue to work with Admic Nacional and also work to provide you more regular updates as described above. Thank you for your patience. In addition to working to resolve the situation Admic Nacional, we will also be working to deliver the recovery effort summaries and implement the problem resolution communication guidelines as soon as possible.

Status update on Admic from Kiva Staff on March 30, 2010: In late December Kiva informed lenders of some difficulties Admic was having in making repayments, and that they had been given an extension to February 1st 2010 on their payments to Kiva. Admic has not been able to make any payments since February 1st due to on-going cash flow problems. Kiva is currently working with Admic to understand their situation and how we can obtain the outstanding balance owed to Kiva. We hope to provide an update on this process in the next month.

Status update on Admic from Kiva Staff on December 17, 2009:

In early July, Kiva announced that we had reached an agreement with Admic to restructure their debt, so they could pay the amount outstanding in equal installments over 24 months. Since that time, Admic has made 3 successful repayments to Kiva. Unfortunately, Admic has run into some liquidity trouble, since funding from the Mexican government did not come in when it was expected. This is making it difficult for Admic to make its payments to Kiva. We have agreed to give Admic an extension until February 1, 2010.

While Admic has made 3 successful payments since July, Admic's delinquency rate on Kiva remains high because those payments have gone to repay Kiva for repayments that Kiva made to lenders before receiving the funds from Admic. Once Admic makes 2 more successful repayments, Kiva will be fully repaid and any following repayments from Admic will be used to repay lenders on a proportional basis. Kiva will continue to work closely with Admic and provide additional updates as appropriate.

Status update on Admic from Kiva Staff on July 22, 2009:

In early July, Kiva went on-site to Admic’s headquarters. During our visit, we were able to understand in more depth the challenges Admic is facing. In late 2008, Admic's board uncovered an operational fraud at the management level that had detrimental effects on Admic’s portfolio quality. The management was removed from the organization and a new management has now taken over and improved the flawed internal controls that existed earlier. Admic is working hard to restore the health of its portfolio and continue to grow. However, given the severity of fraud and the poor portfolio quality, Admic is unable to pay back it’s funders, including Kiva, at this time and continue operating to be able get back on its feet. Therefore, Kiva has agreed to restructure Admic’s debt, allowing Admic to pay the $49,889 owed to Kiva lenders in equal installments over a 24 month period. As this money is received from Admic, Kiva lenders will be paid back on a proportional basis.

Status update on Admic from Kiva Staff on June 5, 2009:

During routine partner monitoring at Admic, Kiva became aware of difficulties Admic is having, mostly as a result of the current economic downturn. Admic is suffering from this recession due to higher client delinquencies, a strong devaluation of the Mexican peso, among other factors. Admic’s current situation is making it difficult for the institution to pay back its loans to Kiva on-time. We are working with Admic to obtain additional information on their situation so that we may develop a payment plan for Kiva lenders to be repaid. Kiva has paused Admic on the website, meaning they can no longer raise funds on Kiva, and we have reduced their star rating to 1 star. In the coming weeks, Kiva will continue to work closely with Admic and provide additional updates as appropriate.

Company Profile

ADMIC's mission is to fight poverty and unemployment in the informal economy by promoting the growth of micro-businesses. ADMIC provides access to credit and business training to those who have few other resources.

ADMIC was established in 1980 in Monterrey, Mexico, by a group of business visionaries who relied on technical assistance from ACCION. Their hope was to improve their community by promoting business development. By the second half of 1998, ADMIC launched a new microcredit program in seven of its offices, directing its outreach toward the urban self-employed with a particular emphasis on women. Close to ninety percent of this program's beneficiaries are low-income women who are part of solidarity groups, a lending method that allows members to cross-guarantee one another's loans in lieu of collateral.

http://www.accionnetwork.org/members.htm#admic

ADMIC's microlending program operates in 9 states through a network of 28 offices. The headquarters is located in Monterrey, Mexico. ADMIC has joined Kiva's network through MATT.org. MATT (Mexican and Americans Thinking Together) is a new service that provides a forum for Mexicans and Americans to address common issues -- job creation in Mexico being one of them. Please take a moment to check out www.matt.org.

Admic can be contacted via email at admic@infosel.net.mx