The Backlash Against Microcredit
Critics question whether microfinance is truly helping the poor or driving them further into poverty with aggressive client recruiting and high-interest lending.
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Bangladesh has launched an investigation of Yunus’ Grameen Bank. The Indian state of Andhra Pradesh cracked down on microloans, citing a scourge of suicides by over-indebted borrowers. Even Yunus himself took to the New York Times to blast “megaprofits” made by some microcredit banks. The backlash against microcredit questions the myth that the poor can easily climb out of poverty with some credit; or that microcredit can be financially self-sustaining. Microcredit is supposed to be a lifeline for borrowers, a winner for investors, and a self-funding route out of poverty for the world. The reality is far more complex.
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