World Bank2012-06-132012-06-132007https://hdl.handle.net/10986/7935This report demonstrates that financial cooperatives can be sustainable providers of financial services in rural areas and development assistance needs to consider supporting them as a means to enhance access to rural finance. It does not suggest that financial cooperatives are the only providers or the preferred channel in all circumstances. For financial cooperatives to function as sustainable institutions, governments need to provide an enabling environment, not exercise excessive control that restricts growth and consolidation, and not use them as channels to provide subsidized credit. Integration into networks has wide-ranging benefits for financial cooperatives, ranging from improved governance to the ability to provide a wide range of services.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO ATMSACCESS TO CREDITACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICESACCESS TO INSURANCEACCESS TO RURAL FINANCEACCESS TO SERVICESACCOUNTINGADVISORY SERVICESAGRICULTURAL BANKAGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVESAGRICULTURAL CREDITAGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT BANKSAPEX BANKAUDITINGAUTONOMYBALANCE SHEETBALANCE SHEETSBANK ACCOUNTBANK BRANCHBANK CUSTOMERSBANKING LAWBANKING SECTORBANKING SERVICESBANKRUPTCYBANKRUPTCY LAWSBORROWINGCAPACITY BUILDINGCAPITAL BASECAPITAL REQUIREMENTSCENTRAL BANK SUPERVISIONCHECK CASHINGCOLLATERALCOMMERCIAL BANKCOMMERCIAL BANKINGCOMMERCIAL BANKSCOMMERCIAL CREDITCOMMERCIAL ENTERPRISESCOMMERCIAL PROPERTYCONSOLIDATIONCONSUMER COOPERATIVESCOOPERATIVE BANKCOOPERATIVE BANKINGCOOPERATIVE BANKSCOOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENTCOOPERATIVESCORRUPTIONCREDIT ASSOCIATIONSCREDIT CARDSCREDIT COOPERATIVECREDIT COOPERATIVESCREDIT GROUPSCREDIT INSTITUTIONSCREDIT LAWCREDIT LINESCREDIT POLICIESCREDIT PROGRAMCREDIT RISKCREDIT RISKSCREDIT SOCIETYCREDIT UNIONCREDIT UNIONSCREDITWORTHINESSCROP FAILURECUSTOMER BASEDEPOSITDEPOSIT ACCOUNTDEPOSIT ACCOUNTSDEPOSIT INSURANCEDEPOSITORSDEPOSITSDEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCEDEVELOPMENT BANKDEVELOPMENT COMPANYDISCRIMINATIONDIVERSIFICATIONDONOR SUPPORTECONOMIC ACTIVITYECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIESECONOMIES OF SCALEEMPLOYMENTENFORCEMENT MECHANISMSENTREPRENEURSEQUIPMENT PURCHASESEXPLICIT SUBSIDIESFACILITATIONFAMILIESFAMILY SUPPORTFARM ENTERPRISESFINANCESFINANCIAL CAPACITYFINANCIAL HEALTHFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSFINANCIAL INTERMEDIARYFINANCIAL MANAGEMENTFINANCIAL MARKETFINANCIAL MARKETSFINANCIAL OUTREACHFINANCIAL PERFORMANCEFINANCIAL PRODUCTSFINANCIAL REGULATIONFINANCIAL RESOURCESFINANCIAL SECTOR REGULATIONSFINANCIAL SERVICEFINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERFINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERSFINANCIAL SERVICESFINANCIAL SERVICES PROVIDERFINANCIAL STRENGTHFINANCIAL SUPPORTFINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITYFINANCIAL SYSTEMFINANCIAL VIABILITYFIXED DEPOSITFOREIGN EXCHANGEFORMAL BANKSFORMAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONFORMAL FINANCIAL SECTORFORMS OF CREDITGENDERGOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONHANDICRAFTSHOUSEHOLDSHOUSINGHOUSING LOANSINDIVIDUALSINFORMAL SAVINGSINFORMATION SYSTEMINFORMATION TECHNOLOGYINSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTINSURANCE SERVICESINTEREST RATEINTEREST RATESINTERNATIONAL BANKINTERNATIONAL COOPERATIVE ALLIANCEINVENTORYKEY CHALLENGELAWSLEGAL FRAMEWORKLEGISLATIONLEVEL OF ASSETSLIMITEDLINES OF CREDITLOANLOAN INSURANCELOAN PRODUCTSLOANABLE FUNDSLOW INTEREST RATESMANAGERSMARKET ECONOMIESMFISMICRO LOANSMICROFINANCEMICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONSMINISTRIES OF FINANCEMONEY LENDERSMONEY TRANSFERMONEYLENDERSMONOPOLYNATURAL RESOURCESNEW MARKETOUTREACHOUTSTANDING LOANSOVERHEAD COSTSPARTNERSHIPPEER REVIEWPENSIONSPERSONSPOSTAL SAVINGSPRODUCTIVITYPROFITABILITYPROVIDERS OF CREDITPRUDENTIAL REGULATIONSRECEIPTSREGULATORY FRAMEWORKREMITTANCEREMITTANCESREPAYMENTREPAYMENT RATESRETIREMENTRISK MANAGEMENTRURAL BRANCHRURAL BRANCHESRURAL COOPERATIVE BANKSRURAL CREDITRURAL FINANCERURAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSRURAL FINANCIAL SERVICESRURAL FINANCIAL SYSTEMSSAVINGSSAVINGS ACCOUNTSAVINGS ACCOUNTSSAVINGS BANKSSAVINGS GROUPSSAVINGS PRODUCTSSECURITIESSELF-FINANCINGSHAREHOLDERSSMALL FARMERSSMALL LOANSSMALLHOLDERSOCIAL WELFARESOCIETIESSOLVENCYSPECIAL SAVINGSSTAKEHOLDERSSTATE BANKSSUBSIDIARYSUPERVISORY FRAMEWORKTAX EXEMPTTECHNICAL ASSISTANCETERM CREDITTIME DEPOSITSTRANSPORTUNIONUNIONSURBAN AREASVILLAGEVILLAGESWORKING CAPITALWorld Bank10.1596/7935