Corporate Governance and Access to Finance - ESBG

4. ACCESS TO FINANCE –CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKAccess to Finance is an increasingly relevant policy objective, especially inemerging and developing countries, given its impact on povertyalleviation, financial stability and economic welfare. The recognition offinancial inclusion as one of the main pillars of the global developmentagenda in the G-20 summit in Seoul, in November 2010, is a signal of itsprominence as a policy objective, which was manifested in a concreteaction plan and a Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion. However, theprecise measurement of Access to Finance is difficult, given its multipledimensions. This section focuses on the relevance, definition andmeasurement of Access to Finance and introduces the specific variablesthat will be used in the quantitative analysis in section 5.The Santiago Declaration adopted by the WSBI members during their22nd World Congress (2009), reaffirmed their long term commitmentto a common objective: “to contribute to achieving a broader degree offinancial inclusion in an increasingly globalized world” 14 .WSBI members define financial inclusion as “the provision of access toappropriate, convenient, usable, valuable and affordable financial servicesand products to the widest part of the population” 15 . In developingcountries, financial inclusion involves delivering basic banking services tothe unbanked, low income population. In developed markets, Access toFinance is related to the prevention of financial exclusion of the mostvulnerable parts of the population.14 www.wsbi.org/template/event.aspx?id=272215 www.wsbi.org/template/event.aspx?id=272261