• Media type: E-Book; Report
  • Title: The Determinants of Interest Rates in Microbanks: Age and Scale
  • Contributor: Nwachukwu, Jacinta C. [Author]; Asongu, Simplice A. [Author]
  • imprint: Yaoundé: African Governance and Development Institute (AGDI), 2015
  • Language: English
  • Keywords: G28 ; non-bank financial institutions ; developing countries ; Microfinance ; age ; economies of scale ; G23 ; N20 ; interest rates ; microbanks ; E43 ; G21
  • Origination:
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  • Description: This study investigates the legitimacy of the relatively high interest rates charged by those microfinance institutions (MFIs) which have been transformed into regulated commercial banks using information garnered from a panel of 1232 MFIs from 107 developing countries. Results show that formally regulated micro banks have significantly higher average portfolio yields than their unregulated counterparts. By contrast, large-scale MFIs with more than eight years of experience have succeeded in lowering interest rates, but only up to a certain cut-off point. The implication is that policies which help nascent small-scale MFIs to overcome their cost disadvantages form a more effective pricing strategy than do initiatives to transform them into regulated institutions.
  • Access State: Open Access