Microfinance. Financial and social results: Mexico and Peru

Abstract

The use of microcredits has been expanded into lots of countries. It´s an industry whose feeding comes from two fundamental factors as the absence of a public bank that grants an accessible financing and the increase of people in vulnerable situations. There is a highlight in Mexico and Peru cases, which both have some common features: the profitability of the microfinances and the high credits cost; but the social benefits aren´t clear, and are even causing indebtedness problems, which is observed in the increase levels of credit risk. The previous is opposed to the vision of promotors. So, the goal of this article is to analyze the microfinance system in both countries, confronting the empiric ant theory evidence in the economic and social aspects.