Yangon-based Proximity Finance has signed a USD 3.28 million back-to-back funding agreement with Yoma Bank to support micro-lending for smallholder farmers, according to an article in Dealstreet Asia. “This back-to-back structure of funding will allow more investors into Myanmar in hard currency while allowing MFIs [micro-finance institutions] to repay in local currency,” Proximity Finance chief executive Hedvig Sundberg said in a statement, adding that the deal should “continue to be an example for other local banks”. The article said that the financing will go towards offering low-interest loans to more than 12,000 families. Proximity Finance is reportedly one of the largest MFIs in Myanmar. The organization claims to have more than 100,000 customers and a portfolio of over USD 20 million.