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...global banking travails. Recent studies have confirmed the robust reliability of borrowers at the bottom end of the global income scale. The world's poorest are affected, though, by commodity price volatility and fluctuating food and fuel costs. Mary Ellen Iskenderian, CEO of Women's World Banking, a global network of 54 microfinance institutions and banks in 30 countries, spoke to Time's Jeremy Caplan recently about how the financial crisis has affected those on the lower rungs of the world's economic ladder...
Iskenderian:The impact on the poor, including the clients of our network, has probably been most evident in rising food and energy prices, which have meant that families may face trade-offs like the choice between paying back their loans or putting dinner on the table for their families. Microfinance doesn't target the poorest of the poor, as they need other types of intervention. It targets the economically active poor at the bottom of the pyramid. There are signs that micro-entrepreneurs will see higher interest rates, since the global credit crunch will likely require MFIs to raise interest...
...seemingly minor catastrophe - like a hospital stay - away from financial disaster, so housing loans and insurance and savings products help create and preserve assets, leading to broader benefits for the economy as a whole. I can't tell you how many times I've heard women clients in our network ask, "Why can't I save for my child's education, instead of taking out another loan to pay for it?" The poverty alleviation benefits are magnified when microloans are supplemented with savings and insurance products...
...TIME: What are the primary objectives of your microfinance network over the next couple of years...
...said before, to take full advantage of microfinance's potential, it is also important for the industry to continue to innovate and evolve. One of the most significant changes has been the move from group to individual lending - an area that Women's World Banking, an international network of microfinance institutions and banks, has helped pioneer. Individual lending is a way to allow micro businesses to start to grow, providing larger, cash-flow based loans than the group might be comfortable counter-guaranteeing. Group lending, where large groups of borrowers are jointly responsible for making sure loans are repaid...