Bringing Finance to Pakistan's Poor : Access to Finance for Small Enterprises and the Underserved

Access to financing is now widely acknowledged as a path to meaningful economic inclusion and reduction in poverty. Policy efforts to increase access to finance in Pakistan have taken time to bear fruit, but now access is indeed expanding quickly in certain financial sectors (microfinance, remittances), albeit from a very low base. Nevertheless, policy measures cannot single-handedly increase financial access; financial institutions' willingness to expand access in Pakistan has been stinted by slow technologic advances, weak legal foundations, and unsuitable financial processes and products. Poor socioeconomic conditions, gender bias, and low levels of basic education and financial literacy remain barriers, but perhaps the single strongest driver of low demand for financial access has been income. The primary purpose of this study is to measure and describe the state of financial service provision to underserved segments of the market in Pakistan, particularly those with low incomes and small enterprises, and to identify ways to improve investment and create inclusive markets that meet the needs of underserved people and enterprises.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nenova, Tatiana, Thioro Niang, Cecile, Ahmad, Anjum
Format: Publication biblioteca
Language:en_US
Published: Washington, DC: World Bank 2009-11-13
Subjects:Finance, 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 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, 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, 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 Institution, microfinance institutions, microfinance lending, Microfinance loans, microinsurance, Money Orders, Money Transfer, money transfers, moneylenders, Mortgage, Mortgage lending, Movable Collateral, operating costs, Outreach, partner banks, payment services, Point of Sale, Poor Access, 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 business, small business loan, small enterprise, Small Enterprises, start-up, technical assistance, transaction costs, Union, Urban Areas, Urban Bank, village, vulnerable groups, Working Capital,
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13803
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