While in less developed and in transition economies microlending has become an efficient instrument for providing small and micro businesses with the necessary financial means, in industrialized countries, with highly developed banking systems, the existence and size of an uncovered demand for...

In this paper we investigate the status quo of regulation for Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) inGermany. A short presentation of the legal framework is followed by a detailed account of thepractical implications for the lending design that MFIs face. Five different models of loan extensionare...

In recent years new reporting standards and laws have been issued. For German companies, the KonTraG (Corporate Sector Supervision and Transparency Act) was introduced in 1998 and the German Accounting Standard (GAS 5 Risk Reporting) is in place since 2001. This study analyses the disclosure of...

The COVID-19 pandemic is permanently changing modern social and economic coexistence. Most governments have declared infection control to be their top priority while citizens face great restrictions on their civil rights. A pandemic is an exemplary scenario in which political actors must decide...

In developing and transition economies, microlending has become an effective instrument for providing micro businesses with the necessary financial resources to launch operations. In the industrialized countries, with their highly developed banking systems, however, there has been ongoing debate...