Microbanking Development, Regulation and Supervision

The study assesses the state of microbanking in the Asia-Pacific region, the industry's size and penetration relative to the entire financial system and trends in regulation and supervision. It examines microbanking in terms of:

• Poverty reduction and social safety nets;
• Micro-enterprise financing;
• Rural development;
• Gender considerations;
• Community empowerment.

Study reviews financial sustainability of microbanking activities, trends in governmental policies and recommends:

• A move from direct interventions through subsidies and financial repression to more subtle indirect interventions aimed at addressing market imperfections and setting an appropriate institutional infrastructure including credit bureaus, rating agencies and deposit insurance schemes;
• Microbanking institutions tap into new private funding.