Living in Peru : your everyday companion

(LIP-jl) -- Peru's most distinguished economist, Hernando De Soto, was among the key speakers at an event held by the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International) in New York City.

Jordan's Queen Rania Al-Abdullah and Academy Award-nominated actress Natalie Portman are co-chairs of FINCA International, a non-profit, microfinance organization, founded by John Hatch in 1984. FINCA International is the innovator of the village banking methodology in microcredit and is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of modern day microfinance.

The event featured key note speakers Jeffery Sachs and Peru's own Hernando De Soto, President of Peru's Institute for Liberty and Democracy.

FINCA International is focusing its efforts on bringing Village Banking, a collateral free lending system, to the world's poorest citizens.

It recently grouped 100,000 communal banks that, according to FINCA International, will benefit more than one million families around the world.