H1 tags : Small loans lead to big returns Grameen Bank officials believe that reducing poverty through microfinance banking is not just
for developing economies. Recently, US President Barack Obama also created a $100m
microfinance growth fund for small lenders around world. (The microfinance growth fund would be a partnership of the Multilateral
Investment Fund at the Inter-American Development Bank, the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the Inter-American
Investment Corporation. )Though a good first step, it is still considered a small amount. Grameen Bank in
Bangladesh spends $100m on microfinance every month. Currently, Grameen America depends
on donations and payments on existing loans. But the bank is planning to apply for a credit-union licence, which will allow
it to accept bigger deposits from US customers. The bank plans to use those deposits for granting more loans to thousands
of people. Now the bank is expanding to other areas in the US. Soon a branch will open in Brooklyn
and plans include branches in states such as Nebraska and Ohio. Branches of the Grameen Bank
are already operating in several other countries, including Turkey, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Kosovo and Zambia.
