This publication presents the results of an access to financial services survey administered to Nepali households in 2005 and explains what hinders access by low income households and small businesses to financial institutions. The obstacles are identified on the basis of an in-depth analysis of...

Over the past 20 years Nepal's financial sector has become deeper and the number and type of financial intermediaries have grown rapidly. Recent reforms have also made the banking sector more stable. Still, access to financial services remains limited for many people in Nepal, and has even been...

Increasing access to rural finance is often the last frontier for financial sector development in developing countries. Financial institutions aiming to operate in rural areas in these countries usually have to deal with high transaction costs, low population densities, remote areas, and a heavy...

This book identifies key investment climate bottlenecks that slow down growth and poverty reduction. Based on face-to-face surveys of owners and managers of firms, combined with extensive dataset analysis, backed by secondary sources, the study analyses the critical factors that influence...

This book identifies key investment climate bottlenecks that slow down growth and poverty reduction. Based on face-to-face surveys of owners and managers of firms, combined with extensive dataset analysis, backed by secondary sources, the study analyses the critical factors that influence...

Over the past 20 years Nepal's financial sector has become deeper and the number and type of financial intermediaries have grown rapidly. Recent reforms have also made the banking sector more stable. Still, access to financial services remains limited for many people in Nepal, and has even been...

Ceilings on lending rates remain a widely used policy tool that is intended to lower the overall cost of credit or protect consumers from exorbitant rates. Interest rate caps come in many forms and scopes and, according to their rationale, ceilings can affect a small segment or the overall...