Micro credit: a different approach to traditional banking: empowering the poor

Traditionally, banks have lent money to those that have money because they are credit worthy. Under this approach, the rich get more credit to make even more money. The Microcredit approach is an attempt to get money into the hands of the poor by extending credit to the 'have-nots'. Microloans to the poor have, for the most part, been limited to the third world countries. This paper suggests that a need exists in the United States for such an approach. By comparing the financial success of the Microcredit program of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh to traditional banks in the United States, an economic justification can be made for making micro loans to the poor in America. The paper further suggests how this might be accomplished.
INTRODUCTION Micro Credit was unheard of until Dr. Muhammad Yunus, an American educated economics professor, began his Micro Credit Scheme as a poverty busting tool. Dr. Yunus had a deep [...]