Microcredit: are on everyone's lips, but it is up vueloArgentina far behind. The portfolio is $ 140 million. And the rate, 56% a year.
By Mara Laudonio (Clarín. IECO)
By Mara Laudonio (Clarín. IECO)
Microcredit is increasingly on everyone's lips, and in fact they are one of the topics chosen by the deputies who discussed the new banking reform bill in Congress, where no one wants to lose prominence.
All projects address the theme of dance to encourage lending in Argentina, and there is a consensus to shore to microfinance, from the standpoint of economic and social. But even if the country is far behind compared to other global initiatives and the region.
Indian economist and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus is considered the father of microfinance and undisputed reference on this subject. It was he who created the Grameen Bank in 1976, known as the bank for the poor.
However, in parallel in Latin America was developing the same concept and took the lead countries like Peru and Bolivia, that have been working 45 years ago and created success stories banks such as Banco Sol and Mi.
in the world today there are about 45,000 million dollars in micro-credit portfolio, and Latin America has a little over 16,000 million dollars. Peru, Bolivia and the Philippines leading global index of the Economist Intelligence Unit microfinance
Brazil is in 24th place, while Argentina is in the 43. Of the total microfinance portfolio in the region, Peru accounts for only a third of the cake.
Argentina, by contrast, is just beginning a portfolio of 140 million pesos, according to data provided by Radim network that gathers the bulk of NGOs and institutions that provide these loans. Is that the activity began timidly in the late 90's, and began to gain momentum after the crisis of 2001 -.
The average level of credit is between 4,000 to 5000 pesos, and most times do not exceed a year, explains Julian accounting, Radim. Beyond
little amount involved, high costs make the local system one of the most expensive in the region and is one of the obstacles to its expansion. For example, in Argentina the average rate for this type of loan is 56% annually, while most of his peers in the region offer rates not exceeding 30%.
are not yet specialized banks in Argentina. The funding of these organizations is done with funds from multilateral agencies, trusts, public funds, and very warmly began to provide the banks, but only involved in 6% of total.
In this context, last Thursday, the parliamentary debate focused on whether the microcredit should have a specific law or be incorporated into the new project. There was also talk of a specialized entity that regulates the industry to cut costs, whether inside or outside the Central Bank. But it is only the beginning of Ebates und that promises to continue.
