ISBN : 9782296551282
COMMERCIAL BANKS AND MICROFINANCE RELATIONSHIPS AS SEEN BY MFI’S
Introduction
In the course of the past two years, two major events have brought
microfinance into the spotlight: the United Nations declared 2005 as
International Year of Micro credit and, in 2006, the Nobel Peace Prize was
awarded to Graeme Bank and economist Mohammed Yunus from Bangladesh,
a pioneer in providing credit to poor and very poor Women in a country of great
need. Interestingly, the award was for peace, rather than being a prize for
economics. What this did for microfinance is clearly recognize the impact of the
poverty on the potential for world peace and stability.
The objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between
microfinance, which I refer to as the provision of financial services – credit and
savings – mainly to the poor (people relying on their tiny business for income),
and commercial banks. This intersection today resides at the core of global
finance. The work examines various aspects of the relationship between banks
and MFI’s. The presentation: