Mosele, Luciano2012-08-132012-08-131996-07https://hdl.handle.net/10986/9961The rural poor can save, although commercial banks are rarely able to mobilize these savings in financial form. Rural credit demand is also high, not only to survive drought and other periodic disasters but also to help move out of poverty through investments that improve productivity and tap into economic opportunities. Yet the high perceived costs and risks of intermediation have deterred formal financial institutions from serving the rural poor. The experience of the World Bank-assisted Rural Savings and Loan Project in Benin shows that well-designed investment in grass roots financial institutions can fill this gap on a sustainable basis.CC BY 3.0 IGOAGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENTBANKING SECTORBANKING SERVICESBANKING SYSTEMBUSINESS ENVIRONMENTCOLLATERALCOMMERCIAL BANKSCOOPERATIVE BANKSCREDIT APPRAISALSCREDIT PROGRAMSDECENTRALIZATIONDEPOSITDEPOSITORSDEPOSITSDEVELOPMENT BANKDROUGHTECONOMICSEXPENDITURESFARMERSFINANCIAL DISCIPLINEFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSFINANCIAL SECTORFINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITYGROUP LENDINGINFLATIONINTEREST RATESINTEREST RATES TO BORROWERSJURISDICTIONLACK OF INFORMATIONLINES OF CREDITLIQUIDITYLIQUIDITY MANAGEMENTLOANLOCAL BANKSLOCAL SAVINGSMICRO CREDITNATIONAL SAVINGSPEER PRESSUREPORTFOLIOPRIVATE COMMERCIAL BANKSPRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENTPSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERSRECOVERY RATEREHABILITATION PROGRAMREPAYMENTREPAYMENT RATESREPUTATIONRURALRURAL AREASRURAL CREDITRURAL POORSAVINGS BANKSHARE CAPITALSHORT-TERM SAVINGSSOURCE OF CREDITTANGIBLE ASSETSTECHNICAL ASSISTANCEWorld Bank10.1596/9961