Apoyo y Servicios Financieros para la Microempresa: Lecciones para El Salvador

This paper derives lessons for EI Salvador, distilled from theory and from experience elsewhere, about the promotion and financing of small and microenterprises. Equity considerations require both to incorporate the poor into growth processes in the long run and alleviating the costs for them of structural adjustment in the short run. While efficient financial services are important (among other things) for the first task, their contribution to the second is very limited. Credit matters only when productive opportunities exist; thus, the target population are the productive poor. Credit, however, cannot create such opportunities. While not all producers demand credit, most demand deposit facilities. When they demand loans, they want more than funds; they are interested in an established relationship with the intermediary. This requires an image of permanency that only viable institutions can provide. Viability is fiscally sound and introduces compatible incentives. To reach the poor, new fmancial technologies and organizational designs must be promoted

Condiciones de Exito para una Reforma Financiera

This paper examines conditions for success of a financial reform. Special attention is devoted to a clear definition of the objectives for reform. These objectives spring, in turn, from the view of finance either as a mechanism for market integration or as a fiscal tool. The shortcomings of finance as a fiscal instrument are examined. The components of a market-oriented reform are identified

La Viabilidad de la Banca de Desarrollo Agripecuario y el Acceso a los Servicios Financieros Rurales

This paper explores the problems of public agricultural development banks in achieving financial viability. Lack of viability has been associated with declining loanable funds and loss of support from clients, Central Banks, and international agencies. Most problems derive from their original conceptual design as borrower-dominated institutions. Viability depends on protecting the portfolio from inflation, arrears and default, and operating losses. The task requires changes in the macroeconomic and policy environment, organizational reform, and financial technology innovations