After 6 years of successful operation, Common Interest Foundation (CIF) has decided to close its program due to financial, legal and political reasons.

CIF was started as a Thai foundation by a group of donors interested in helping the rural poor. Even though its only funding options were donations and grants, the foundation was able to grow its Village Banking program to serve nearly 70 communities throughout Northern Thailand. With the purpose of expanding its operation to sustainable levels, CIF started to explore options of transforming itself into an entity that could access both loans and capital.

While the Thai government has been in the process of creating microfinance regulations, the proposed legal options did not satisfy the requirements of interested investors. In addition to the legal uncertainties, political events, nation-wide debt moratoriums and new government-subsidized lending programs decreased investor confidence in Thailand ’s small microfinance sector.

In early June, the Board of Directors met and decided that the challenges were too great for CIF’s small operation and resources. The decision was made to start the process of helping its communities to merge with the new government-sponsored programs. Many of CIF’s communities chose to join the government program while other communities decided that their local Village Bank was mature enough to function independently.

The Board of Directors and the staff of Common Interest would like to thank all of those who have supported its work throughout the years and wish continued success to our former members in rural Thailand.