Financial institutions of the world need to be inclusive

• Miscellaneous
• 31st March 2009
• YC

The Hindu

NEW DELHI: Stating that the current global financial crisis will intensify further, noted economist and Nobel laureate from Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus said on Monday that financial institutions of the world need to be “inclusive.”The Hindu

NEW DELHI: Stating that the current global financial crisis will intensify further, noted economist and Nobel laureate from Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus said on Monday that financial institutions of the world need to be “inclusive.”

“This crisis is going to intensify. No one will be spared. It started in one country and a small number of people are responsible for it. It has shown the fragile nature of the whole structure. We have to understand that we can’t use the same framework now.

Muhammad Yunus, a file picture.
Photo: G.P. Sampath Kumar

We need a different framework where financial institutions have to be inclusive,” he said talking to the media on the sidelines of a two-day conference at Jamia Millia Islamia here.  

“Two-thirds of the world’s population don’t have access to the financial system. Poor are not considered credit worthy. The idea of the business is only maximisation of profit. That is too narrow an interpretation of a human being. There should also be social business in the society,” said the Founder and Managing Director of Grameen Bank, Professor Yunus.

He said the ongoing crisis has given us tremendous opportunities to identify what needs to be done now.

“Financial crisis is a combination of many crises like food crisis, energy crisis and environmental crisis that is getting worse every day. At the same time, it is a great opportunity for us to shake off all old ideas, get new ideas, use new technology and create a new framework.”

The noted economist, Prof. Yunus, felt that every human being should have the “right to credit” because if people have money, they can change their lives.

“It is true for women. They have the ability, but are sitting at home. If you give them finances, their hobbies become business.”

Prof. Yunus has been invited by Jamia to deliver a keynote address on “Women, micro-credit and poverty alleviation” during the conference on “Women of South Asia: Partners in Development”.

In his address, the Nobel laureate spoke of his experiences in setting up the Grameen Bank and noted that the money reaching the family through women showed more positive results than the amount that went through the men.

“Today women in Bangladesh are completely different than what they were 25 years ago. Women have become conscious of their lives. The health care indicators in Bangladesh were the worst among SAARC countries 25 years ago. Today they have improved and bypassed every other country in the region. That’s because the basic condition of women has changed. It is fundamental for any nation to concentrate on the status of women”.

Jamia Vice-Chancellor Mushirul Hasan and Planning Commission member Saida Hamid were also present.

The event is being attended by several participants from the SAARC region.

Link: http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/31/stories/2009033155752000.htm