eBook

Bringing finance to Pakistan's poor : access to finance for small enterprises and the underserved

Nenova, Tatiana, Ahmad, Anjum, Niang, Cecile Thioro

2009

Overview

Although access to financing in Pakistan is expanding quickly, it is two to four times lower than regional benchmarks. Half of Pakistani adults, mostly women, do not engage with the financial system at all, and only 14 percent have access to formal services. Credit for small- and medium-size enterprises is rationed by the financial system. The formal microfinance sector reaches less than 2 percent of the poor, as opposed to more than 25 percent in neighboring countries. Yet it is the micro- and small businesses, along with remittances, that help families escape the poverty trap and participate in the economy. 'Bringing Finance to Pakistan's Poor' is based on a pioneering and comprehensive survey and dataset that measures the access to financial products by Pakistani households. The survey included 10,305 households in all areas of the country, excluding the tribal regions. The accompanying CD contains summary statistics. The authors develop a picture of access to and usage of financial services across the country and across different population groups, and they identify policy and regulatory priorities. Reform measures in Pakistan have been timely, but alone are not enough; financial institutions have lagged behind in adopting technology, segmenting customer bases, diversifying products, and simplifying processes and procedures. Gender bias and low levels of financial literacy remain barriers, as is geographical remoteness. However, the single strongest cause of low financial access is lack of income—not location, education, or even gender. 'Bringing Finance to Pakistan's Poor' will be of great interest to readers working in the areas of business and finance, economic policy, gender and rural development, and microfinance.

• Publisher: World Bank,World Bank Publications,The World Bank,Washington, DC: World Bank
• Subject: Access to Banking / Access to Finance / access to financial services / Access to Financing / access to formal finance / access to services / accessibility / account holders / agricultural banks / agricultural credit / agricultural finance / Anti-Money Laundering / Application Process / ATM penetration / balance sheet / Bank Access / bank accounts / bank assets / bank borrowers / bank branch / Bank Branches / Bank Credit / bank deposits / bank lending / Bank Loans / banking service / banking services / Banking System / Banks / benefits of access / big banks / borrower / broad access / BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Business Development / capacity building / capital adequacy / capital requirement / capital requirements / central bank supervision / collateral requirements / Commercial Bank / commercial banking / commercial banks / Consumer credit / Consumer finance / consumer lending / conventional banks / Cooperative Bank / cooperatives / Credit Associations / credit bureau / credit bureaus / credit constraints / credit histories / credit history / credit information / credit lines / Credit Market / credit requirements / creditworthiness / crop insurance / cultural norms / Debt / demand for savings / Deposit / deposit accounts / deposit mobilization / depositor / depositors / Deposits / Development Bank / Development Finance / Development Finance Institutions / diversification / down market / earnings / economic development / economic growth / enterprise credit / entrepreneurs / ethnic group / Exchange Commission / Exchange rate / external finance / Farmer / Farmer financing / farmers / female client / Female Clients / Finance / Financial Access / financial assets / financial development / Financial Education / Financial exclusion / financial infrastructure / financial institutions / financial instruments / financial intermediary / financial intermediation / Financial Literacy / Financial Market / financial markets / financial needs / financial product / Financial Products / financial provider / Financial Sector Assessment / financial sector reforms / financial service / Financial Services / financial system / Financial Systems / Fixed Capital / foreign currency / formal financial institution / formal financial institutions / formal financial sector / formal financial services / forms of collateral / Gender / gender bias / gender divide / gender segregation / government policy / greater access / groups of people / guarantor / household access / Household Income / households / housing finance / income groups / Informal Borrowing / informal credit / Informal Finance / informal financing / Informal Savings / information infrastructure / information on markets / installments / institutional investor / Interest Rates / International Bank / international banks / key challenge / key challenges / KMU / Lack of access / Lack of Information / lending portfolio / levels of access / limited access / limited access to bank / Loan / loan amount / Loan Application / loan applications / Loan Portfolio / loan processing / loan processing times / Loan Product / Loan Size / low interest rate / MFI / MFIs / Micro Finance / microcredit / Microfinance / Microfinance -- Pakistan / Microfinance Institution / microfinance institutions / microfinance lending / Microfinance loans / microinsurance / Mikrofinanzierung / Money Orders / Money Transfer / money transfers / moneylenders / Mortgage / Mortgage lending / Movable Collateral / operating costs / Outreach / Pakistan / partner banks / payment services / Point of Sale / Poor Access / Poverty / prejudice / private enterprises / privatization / Profitability / Public-Private Partnerships / receipts / Remittance / Remittances / repayments / risk management / Rotating Credit / rural client / Rural Credit / rural finance / Savings / savings account / Savings Accounts / Savings Bank / savings products / Securities / Small and medium sized enterprises / Small business / Small business -- Pakistan -- Finance / small business loan / small enterprise / Small Enterprises / Social equality / start-up / technical assistance / transaction costs / Union / Unternehmensfinanzierung / Urban Areas / Urban Bank / village / vulnerable groups / Working Capital
• ISBN: 9780821380307, 0821380303, 082138032X, 9780821380321