Improving credit alternatives in urban areas

50 to 90 percent of the population of developing countries remain outside the services of formal credit institutions. Low-income households are constrained in their "credit worthiness" by factors such as low and or irregular wages, jobs in the informal sector, seasonal employment and very low holdings of marketable assets. This has led to dependence on informal credit markets to satisfy their credit needs. For example, for housing loans, it is imperative for a potential bank loan borrower to have tenure holding on the land on which the house is to be built, among other requirements. This summararily excludes all squatter households. In a survey, more than 95% of the finance used to build a house came from personal savings and borrowing from the informal market. There have been special programs targeting low-income households, but these have been few and far between.