Microfinance in the United States
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke
At the ACCIÓN Texas Summit on Microfinance in the United States, San Antonio, Texas
November 6, 2007
The Development of the U.S. Microfinance Movement
Although the United States came relatively late to the microfinance movement, experimentation in the 1980s and 1990s laid the groundwork for the lively network of programs we see today. Acción has been at the forefront of the development of microfinance in the United States. Acción International began its microlending activities in Latin America in 1961 and established an affiliate organization in the United States, Acción USA, in 1991. Over the years, the U.S. Acción network has grown to become one of the country's largest microfinance providers. Since its founding, the U.S. Acción network has loaned $180 million to nearly 20,000 borrowers in thirty-five states.2
Of course, the operational details of U.S. microfinance programs differ significantly from those in overseas programs, but as I mentioned, they share similar goals and core values. As it does in developing countries, the microfinance movement in the United States seeks to expand economic opportunities for individuals and to foster community economic development by providing small loans and other business services to people who have been traditionally underserved by mainstream financial institutions. Loan features--including size, collateral requirements, and repayment terms--are typically more flexible than those of standard bank loans and are tailored to the needs of low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs.
In the United States, however, credit is only one part of the microfinance package. To a greater extent than overseas, microfinance programs here have expanded their offerings to deliver education, training, and various other services to nascent entrepreneurs. The goals of these supplemental activities are twofold: to improve the survival rate of the borrowers' start-up businesses and to mitigate credit risks for the lender. Several factors have driven the U.S. microfinance industry to diversify beyond simply lending. The complexity of the U.S. market for financial services requires greater financial management skills than are typically needed in developing countries. Here, even very small businesses are likely to have to deal with factors--such as taxes, licenses, and zoning laws--that can prove daunting hurdles to the inexperienced, aspiring business owner (Assanie and Virmani, 2006). By contrast, entrepreneurs in developing countries tend to operate in the informal sector, often out of the sight of regulators and tax authorities. Yet another difference between the U.S. context and that of the developing world is that, in the United States, aspiring entrepreneurs may have access to alternative sources of credit. Although they may not be able to obtain traditional small business loans, some can qualify for credit cards, home equity credit lines, or other alternatives to microcredit, whereas many of Grameen Bank's clients in Bangladesh, for example, have no such alternatives. Thus, while lending remains a very important part of U.S. microfinance programs, it is not as central to the broader mission as is typically the case in the developing world.
In helping local enterprises get under way, microfinance organizations help deliver the social benefits often associated with such businesses. For example, microentrepreneurs often involve their family members in their businesses, providing them valuable work experience; and extra income can confer important advantages on future generations, such as a chance for a better education. In addition, entrepreneurs may benefit communities and local economies in multiple ways, as this story of a woman who resides in one of Houston's poorest neighborhoods illustrates. Observing the lack of grocery stores in her community, she approached Acción Texas for funds to open a small organic food store and restaurant. With the help of the microloan, she created a viable business while also improving the options for food shopping in her community. She also provides various services, including neighborhood cooking classes that promote healthy eating habits.
..cont'd
http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/bernanke20071106a.htmACCION USA
http://www.accionusa.org/site/c.lvKVL9MUIsG/b.1359227/k.758D/Small_Business_Loans__Microfinance__ACCION_USA.htmGrameen Foundation
http://www.grameenfoundation.org/Enterprise Development Group
http://www.entdevgroup.org/----------
Replicating Microfinance in the United States: Opportunities and Challenges
In developing countries, microfinance has been the darling of the development community, and in developed countries, microfinance fits well with Third Ways ideas. What are the challenges and opportunities for the attempt to replicate microfinance in the United States? This paper attempts to sketch some answers. Two factors color much of the discussion. First, compared to the Third World, the structure of the U.S. economy makes the hurdles to starting small-businesses much higher in the United States, and, second, the microenterprise sector itself is much smaller. The two aspects combine to make business training a far more important component in the United States than in the Third World. They also limit potential demand for microfinance and drive up costs. With costs well above revenues, U.S. programs are far from achieving financial self-sufficiency. With continued reliance on donors, U.S. programs will have to work toward justifying their place among other subsidized anti-poverty interventions, including education and community-building initiatives. This suggests that serious, regular cost-effectiveness analyses should become a much higher priority than it has been. Our second broad conclusion is that developing inexpensive saving services for the "unbanked" appears to have greater potential for cost-recovery in the United States, and this could open up opportunities for millions of poor households that are poorly served by existing for- profit and non-profit financial institutions. The current focus on microlending in the US echoes the initial focus on lending in Third World programs, but those programs are increasingly recognizing the importance of also developing facilities for safe, convenient savings.
cont'd
http://ideas.repec.org/p/wpa/wuwpdc/0109002.html---
Microfinance in the United States: Is The US Market More Challenging Than Other Markets?
The Microfinance Gateway
Why is it difficult to run sustainable operations in the US?
Positive results of microfinance in developing countries raise the question of whether successes can be replicated in the United States. Even though similarities exist, the smaller size of the US market, stricter regulations, and limitations on interest rates are challenges to overcome in order to achieve scale and self-sufficiency. Successful interventions in the US should not only focus on lending but also on savings, bill payment, and money transfer services. Forging new relationships, identifying cutting-edge products, and applying new technologies would open avenues to reduce transaction costs and integrate millions into the US financial system. ..cont'd
http://www.microfinancegateway.org/content/article/detail/25590-----
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