Grameen’s Yunus Defends Bank, Microlending

Microlending – making small loans that people in third world nations could use to bring themselves out of poverty – face increasing criticism as the same people fall into debt and unscrupulous lenders get into the act.

Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize-winning founder of leading microlender Grameen Bank, mounts a defense in The New York Times. He argues that greater government oversight of microlenders will prevent many of the abuses we see now, and claims that his own bank’s model, where borrowers must also open a savings account, should be adopted by others.

Yunus and Grameen Bank are currently under investigation by the Bangladeshi government.

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