Microfinance Industry Report SRI LANKA - Microfinance in Sri Lanka

Access to Financial Services
Summarized
Several key points emerge from the findings of the
household survey:
>> Outreach of financial services is quite high with
82.55 of households having used the services
offered by financial institutions
>> There is a strong customer preference for
state-owned institutions, probably due to the
perception of safety and stability associated with
these institutions and also due to easy accessibility
as most of these institutions have widespread and
extensive branch networks.
>> Microfinance clearly plays an important role as a
large proportion of households surveyed were
found to have accessed microfinance institutions
for credit although a lower number had utilized
the savings facilities offered. One reason for the
lower utilization of savings facilities of this group of
institutions is that many MFI are prohibited by law
from accepting deposits and are usually limited to
member deposits only.
>> Average borrowings and loan sizes are very much
indicative of a microfinance market. Analysis by
gender indicates that microfinance in Sri Lanka, as
in many parts of the world, serves a predominantly
female clientele.
>> Informal sources of credit such as moneylenders
are less significant than is popularly believed and
are used primarily during emergencies where
quick cash is required.
Banking With The Poor Network 21