Access to Financial Services
Helping promote economic development, reduce poverty & improve living standards
Almost three billion people in the developing world lack access to financial services. They lack safe avenues to save, affordable sources of credit and protection from unforeseen events. Evidence suggests that access to financial services is vital for growth and poverty reduction.
Improving access to sustainable financial services plays an important role in empowering people, both socially and economically. Services such as Microfinance and Islamic Banking can make a real difference to people in poorer communities, particularly women, helping to alleviate poverty and raise living standards. They can also help to fuel economic growth, opening up new commercial opportunities for Standard Chartered.
- Some customers may be illiterate and have no way of reaching bank branches.
- Products tend to be for smaller amounts and less sophisticated; repayments are often weekly instead of monthly.
- As customers may have no credit history and may only require smaller scale loans, we have to find ways to evaluate credit on a different basis. This has led to the growth of self-help groups.
- Even though women are seen as a lower credit risk they have traditionally been excluded from financial services.
To address these challenges we have partnered with select Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in a commercially viable manner to increase access to financial services.
Quick facts
- Number of MFI partners: 41
- Total Portfolio: $170 million
- Number of countries covered: 13 countries across Asia and Africa
- Estimated number of individuals impacted: 1.2 million
Did you know...
Standard Chartered has committed Seeing is Believing - "A New Vision," as the Bank's sole commitment to Clinton Global Initiative for 2008.
In brief, our 2008 commitment promises to:
- Reduce the number of people living with avoidable blindness by establishing sustainable and scalable primary eye care services across 20 cities in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.
- Provide financially and socially sustainable eye care systems to reduce avoidable blindness through interventions and improved eye healthcare. The eye care services established by the program will also help educate and empower some of the most deprived urban populations.
- Target eye care services to at least 20 million people.