The global financial crisis has prompted microfinance institutions to look at the prospects of offering savings accounts to clients, potentially giving variety to what had long been a credit-only service to the poor, The Economist reports.
The report said liquidity problems, heavy financing costs and exchange rate fluctuations have “prompted many ‘credit-only’ MFIs to warm to the idea of funding at least part of their lending activity using local savings.” Only a few MFIs allow deposits, based on studies, but the trend may well be going this direction because of the impact of the tough economic climate.