Microfinance represents an item that grows more and more every day and is becoming one of the pillars of Peru's economic growth, due to the work philosophy, technical know-how and expertise, and ability to finance small and medium-sized businesses.
The main players in this growth are the twelve municipal savings and loan banks (CMAC), who are leading the microfinance industry. This path is also being taken by Edpyme, rural savings banks, credit unions, financial cooperatives, specialized divisions of commercial banks and various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that, following the example of savings banks, contribute to the development of microfinance. Currently, this item has been more dynamic with the entry of commercial banks, generating that the sector is growing by leaps and bounds.
Indeed, the CMACs contribute not only with financing for new businesses and the strengthening of others, but also with the formalization of various companies that with greater competitiveness are prepared to face new challenges and enter larger markets.
Many businesses that started as micro-businesses are now large companies, thanks to the financial support received by the savings banks, which in Peru have been working for almost 27 years. Even some excellent executives trained in the savings bank system are now top officials in the new organizations sponsored by commercial banks. It has been proven that some commercial banks in order to successfully enter the microfinance industry have hired the best executives of the municipal savings bank system, leading entities and pioneers in microfinance in the country and according to some specialists, from Latin America.
However, the microfinance industry is undergoing some changes derived from the globalization process such as acquisitions, portfolio purchases, mergers and liquidations. New actors between banks, finance companies and NGOs are changing the profile of the classic consumer of microfinance services.
Se está generando un sobreendeudamiento en algunos casos, y en otros, el traslado de habituales clientes de las CMAC, que atraídos por tasas preferenciales, nuevos productos financieros y mayores montos de créditos, se orientan hacia otros agentes comerciales. A esta realidad, se le debe sumar el accionar de las tarjetas que otorgan los grandes almacenes y tiendas por departamentos. Los empresarios vinculados a la micro y pequeña empresa, ya no usan el dinero como capital de trabajo o para comprar equipos y maquinarias. Ahora el dinero plástico sirve para productos de consumo masivo, que si bien es cierto otorgan “bienestar” y “estatus social”, dejan endeudadas a las personas.
Also, although it is true that the microfinance industry has grown, it did so in urban areas. The attention to clients in the rural sector that by their nature have high risks of not qualifying before financial institutions is still on the pending agenda. Although rural areas are key to the development of the countryside by agricultural and agro-industrial projects, it is urgent to also support artisanal production that is dynamic for job creation, poverty reduction and improvement of quality of life.
