Dr. Kendall Mau's MICROFINANCE TRAVELS

Stripping Power from the Feds

Now we hear that the Democrats are trying to strip the Federal Reserve Bank of its regulatory powers over US banks.  At first glance, the general reaction is - are they nuts?  How can you strip a central bank of its regulatory authority? 

What most of us don't realize is that our quasi-central bank (the Federal Reserve Bank) is very unique.  Unlike most central banks around the world where governments own and control them, our Federal Reserve Bank is actually owned by individual banks chartered by the Federal Reserve.  Congress gives it certain regulatory authority which make it appear like a central bank.  We have 3 kinds of chartered banks in the US - Federal Reserve Chartered, Office of the Treasury Chartered, and State Chartered.

Kind of like having the prisoners manning their own prison.  On second thought, it might not be such a bad ideal to have a 3rd party hands-off regulatory body doing the regulating.

Weekend Party Madness

I attended 2 garden parties this past weekend where I met some very interesting individuals and some not too exciting individuals.  My Virgo nature was in full bloom and I had to really force myself to keep my sharp opinions to myself.  In other words, clamp my mouth shut and not get into any arguments.  I did it, but not graciously!!!!  I truly apologize for my bad behavior.

What's with all these older people (oops, I'm of that certain age too) who live vicariously through their children who seem to walk on water?  They travel the world, but don't get involved with other cultures.  I just want to scream and say can't you go one hour without mentioning your perfect kids and their supposedly perfect careers.  Just tell me what you yourself are up to these days.  What kind of differences are you making in this recession-addled world?

Kudos to all the folks out there who are involved with www.kiva.org, www.prosper.com, and www.lendingclub.com.  You don't have to travel to exotic locations, but you can be involved and helpful to humanity.  Being a lump is nothing to be proud of. 

Right on Hillary Clinton!

Hillary Clinton commented on the Zelaya return 2 days ago.  Although the US is backing the peaceful reinstatement of Zelaya, she indicated that there would probably have to be some compromise on his part.

Did you catch Zelaya's statement today from New York?  He just wants to return to Honduras to finish up his term.  He then very quietly added...... and then retire.  No more trying to change the constitution to allow him to run again for another 4 years?  Did I hear correctly? 

Washington DC, Things to Do

I'm headed to Washington DC in about a week with a full agenda of events during the 4 days I'll be there.  The first day I'm going to visit the University of Maryland, College Park, where I got my MBA in Operations Research many years ago.  It's always a pleasure to be back on the campus, seeing all the new buildings, students, and a myriad of changes.  UM is where I got my formal analytical and financial training after finishing 3.5 years in Peace Corps working as a Credit Union Adviser in Senegal and Panama.  The education I received at UM has led to over 2 decades of working in the micro-finance field.

The next day I have a meeting at the ACDI/VOCA Foundation, recently created by ACDI/VOCA, a large Washington DC-based NGO with agriculture and financial development projects worldwide.  This is the first meeting of the foundation's advisory board where we'll discuss volunteer programs and how to fund them.  The foundation will field 1,000+ highly trained and expert volunteers around the world for agriculture and micro-finance-related  projects.  Executives and working professionals donate their time and expertise to help train people in the third world.  The volunteer program and its responsibility were transferred from ACDI/VOCA to the foundation.  I've been a volunteer for over 10 years having done micro-credit, HR, and financial projects in Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uganda, and Paraguay for ACDI/VOCA, as well as Senegal and French Guinee for Winrock International, another well known US-based NGO.  I also had the great opportunity to be an ACDI/VOCA staff member in Honduras where I served as Chief-of-Party, from 2001 to 2002, for an agriculture and small-medium enterprise development restructuring program of the largest Honduran rural agriculture credit cooperative.  The $5.3M project was funded by USAID.

Today I was informed that I will be receiving a US Presidential Volunteer Service Award at the State Department-USAID while I'm there.  ACDI/VOCA nominated me for my work last year in Azerbaijan where I helped the newly formed Credit Union Association with strategic planning and the crafting of a financial and political strategy to persuade the Central Bank and the legislators to allow credit unions to accept deposits from their members.  It's a great honor for me to be recognized for my volunteer work and to have a 10-year affiliation with ACDI/VOCA.  There will be 2 other colleagues receiving service awards that evening.

Now the main reason why I was heading to DC in the first place.  I'm part of the infamous Class of 1968 at UC Berkeley.  Remember us? - the famous flower children and rabble rousers of Berkeley?  Our 40th anniversary is upon us and the class has chosen to endow a chair in Political Civility!!!!  We are the most senior of the baby boomers, and we still long for peace and civility in our political systems.  Enough with all the partisan bickering.  Lets get some real legislation done like good health-care for all and bring some lasting peace to Iraq.  Enough of this Texas macho of "rope the steer" and drag its bloody carcass across the range to show who won.  Bad strategy, bad execution, face the facts, we didn't rope the steer, we fell off the horse, the lasso broke, and the opportunity was lost.  AUWE as we say in Hawaii.

The class representatives are pairing with the UC Berkeley Institute of Government in DC.  We're going to visit our CA representatives and senators on the hill to tell them what we're doing and why.  We want to leave a legacy of Peace and Civility.  NGO work and micro-finance fit right into our plans for spreading political and financial civility around the world.