Microfinanza Rates MFO Crystal ‘A-’
Microfinanza (MFR), a Global Rating Agency specialized in inclusive finance, and its Social Rating Committee has assigned to Georgia’s leading non-bank financial institution Crystal the Grade: A-, with AA being considered the highest Grade in MicroFinanza Rating.
The decision was made after a thorough review of Crystal’s documents following a week-long visit to Crystal’s Headquarters and branches in Georgia.
The Executive Summary of Crystal’s Social Rating says that: “Crystal’s governance shows commitment to the institution’s triple bottom line (People, Planet, Profit). It’s social strategy is well-formalized with annually approved social targets; social responsibility towards staff is good due to the well-balanced gender composition of staff, there is low staff turnover, competitive remuneration and systematic trainings offered to employees; the client protection principles are properly implemented; and the context risk is medium with adequate infrastructure to prevent over-indebtedness.“
According to Archil Bakuradze, Founder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Crystal, such an assessment from a global rating agency is a great honor and a sign of recognition for the whole team of the Georgian microfinancial organization. He also positively appraised MFR’s activities while making conclusions.
“We are delighted to have been assigned the Social Rating A-, as a mark of recognition of Crystal’s social and environmental performance management. MFR was vigorous and punctilious in their process. We are grateful to the team for helping us to identify potential future improvements. This leap in social performance is obviously a collective achievement of all Crystalians, the Board, our investors, lenders and supporters. Crystal remains fully committed to the desired outcomes described by 3P: Planet, People, Profit,” he noted.
Chiara Pescatori, MFR Inclusive Finance Director, also commented on the global rating agency’s assessment of the Georgian financial institution. She described the process of collaborating with Crystal as an “absolute pleasure” and noted that she’s glad to see the progress and improvements achieved by the company over the last years.
“It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Crystal and witness the significant improvements the company has made over the past years. At MFR, we would like to thank the Crystal team for the great business relationship with MFR and we wish them great success in the implementation of social performance and client protection practices,” she said.
Crystal is a distinguished and trustworthy financial organization in Georgia, which manages a $100 million loan portfolio, employs more than 1,000 professionals, operates through 62 regional branches and serves more than 100,000 unique clients countrywide. Crystal acts as a platform for economic development of thousands of customers, providing them with innovative financial products and services tailored to their specific needs.
Crystal is the first Fitch-rated non-bank financial institution in the region to be assigned a ‘B’ Rating with a Stable Outlook.
The company was also recently awarded with the prestigious CSR Award for the best practices of gender equality principles – UN SDG #5, and the nation’s Responsible Business Award of 2018 as the Most Responsible Company of the Year 2018.