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Striking the Balance in Microfinance: a practical guide to mobilizing savings

This book grew out of the Savings Best Practices project, which aimed to capture and share the best practices learned from credit union savings mobilisation programmes in Latin America. The vast majority of microfinance institutions continue to be lending institutions and it is thought to be important to introduce a more balanced approach now that emphasises the centrality of savings in self-sustainable institution development.

This book shows in a step-by-step fashion how to mobilise savings to create more stable and robust MFIs and financial markets. However, it also made clear that not all MFIs should engage in savings operations. Any MFI that cannot assure the safety of deposits made with them has no business raising savings from the public. Topics covered in the book include:

• Institutional preconditions: testing readiness and achieving sustainability
• Savings product management
• Product development and marketing: meeting the local demand
• Costing savings mobilisation and ideas for lowering costs

Three chapters are devoted to experience in Nicaragua and Ecuador. These are followed by a toolkit which includes:

1. Management evaluation
2. Calculating interest on savings
3. Evaluation of internal control in the deposit cycle
4. Introduction to liquidity and asset-liability management
5. Monitoring and projecting cash flow
6. Calculating the net margin
7. Risk analysis in savings mobilisation
8. Profit and loss simulation model
9. Creating a marketing campaign
10. Guide to designing surveys
11. Model surveys
12. Calculating the costs of savings mobilisation

• Resource type Book
• Author Branch, B.; Klaehn, J.; (eds)
• OrganisationPact Publications; WOCCU
• Year of Publication2002
• RegionGlobal
• LanguageEnglish
• Number of pages392 pp.