Synopses & Reviews
This text is concerned with the increasingly important and problematic area of financial exclusion, broadly defined as the inability and/or reluctance of particular societal groups to access mainstream financial services. There is growing evidence that deregulation in developed financial sectors improves financial inclusion for some societal groups, but may at the same time exacerbate it for others. In developing countries access to financial services is typically limited and therefore providing wider access to such services can aid financial and economic development.
About the Author
Carbó Santiago is Professor of Economics at the University of Granada, Spain. He is also the Head of Research on Financial Systems at the Savings Banks Foundations (Funcas) in Spain. Edward P.M. Gardner is Professor of Banking and Finance, Director of the School for Business and Regional Development and Co-Director of the Institute of European Finance at the University of Wales, Bangor and the Bank of Valleta Chair in International Banking and Finance at the University of Malta. Philip Molyneux is Professor in Banking and Finance at the University of Wales, Bangor, UK, and at Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Table of Contents
List of Tables * List of Figures * Glossary of Acronyms * PART 1: INTRODUCTION * Aims and Objectives * PART 2: NATURE, CONSEQUENCES AND POLICY REACTIONS: AN OVERVIEW * Introduction * Nature and Causes * The Financially Excluded * Consequences of Financial Exclusion * US Experiences * Responding to Financial Exclusion * Conclusions * PART 3: UK EXPERIENCES * Introduction * Financial Exclusion in the UK and the Nature of Excluded Groups * Background and Types of Indicators * Why is Financial Exclusion Occurring in the UK? * Excluded Groups and Products * Barriers to Financial Inclusion * Consequences of Financial Exclusion * PART 4: TACKLING FINANCIAL EXCLUSION IN THE UK * Introduction * Government and Financial Sector Partnership * Universal Banking and Basic Banking Services * Promoting Financial Literacy and Closing the Information Gap * Tailoring Products and Strategies * Other Institutional Arrangements * SMEs and Micro Credit (Microfinance) * Regulation and Financial Exclusion * Conclusions * PART 5: FINANCIAL EXCLUSION IN THE US * Introduction * Nature and Extent of the Problem * Causes and Consequences * Repsonses to Financial Exclusion in the US * A Note on Select Bank Trends and Development * Conclusion: Bank Strategic Implications * PART 6: FINANCIAL EXCLUSION IN EUROPE * Introduction * Policy and Strategic Context * Select Comparative Data * Responding to Financial Exclusion in Europe * Market: Spain, Greece, Ireland and Italy * Voluntary Role of Banks: France, Germany and Belgium * Government as Mediator: The UK and the Attempt in France * Government as Legislator: France, Portugal and Sweden * Conclusions * PART 7: EUROPEAN POLICY ON FINANCIAL EXCLUSION AND BANK STRATEGIES * Introduction * Market Context and European Policy Responses * Historical and Institutional Settings * Policy Responses to Financial Exclusion * Bank Strategies and Products * The Contribution to Economic Theory * Conclusion * PART 8: FINANCIAL EXCLUSION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES * Introduction * Features of Financial Exclusion in Developing Countries * Rural Economies and Financial Underdevelopment * Exclusion and Financial Development * Financial Underdevelopment and the Finance-growth nexus * Financial Development is Pro-poor * Mechanisms of Financial Inclusiuon in Developing Countries: Informal Financial Networks and Microfinance * Rotating Saving and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) * The Microfinance Revolution * A Note on the Microfinance Experience in Bolivia * Development of Formal Intermediaries: Some Policy Lessons * Conclusions * PART 9: FINANCIAL EXCLUSION - AREAS FOR FURTHER STUDY * Introduction * Areas for Further Study * References