Subsidized savings or credit? Financial services for the poor

Abstract

MORE THAN A QUARTER OF A CENTURY AGO, A REVOLUTION BEGAN IN THE WORLD´S FINANCIAL SYSTEM, WHEN MUHAMMAD YUNUS DEMOSTRATED THAT THE POOR NEED FINANCIAL SERVICED, AND THAT SUCH SERVICES CAN SERVE AS AN EFFECTIVE TOOL IN FIGHTING POVERTY. SINCE THE GRAMEEN BANK WAS FOUNDED, A NUMBER OF OTHER PROJECTS HAVE EMERGED, PROMOTED BY INTERNATIONAL ENTITIES. THESES PROJECTS TAKE SOME ASPECTS OF THE METHODOLOGY DESIGNED BY THAT BANK AND OPERATE IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD, TRANSFORMING MILLIONS OF PERSONS LIVING IN POVERTY OR U N CONDITIONS OF EXTREME POVERTY INTO CLIENTS AND EVEN MEMBERS.