Stability Debapriya Bhattacharya heads the Center for Policy Dialogue in Dhaka and is a public policy analyst. He says the government must ensure that Grameen Bank’s stability is not affected. The bank has more than eight million borrowers, spread across more than 80,000 villages,
and is a significant feature of the country’s rural economy.
He says the government must also clarify its policy toward numerous other microcredit institutions which are working in the country.
"Given what has happened to the Grameen Bank’s leadership transition, it is important to note that the other microcredit operators at the field level should not feel threatened," he said. "No atmosphere of hostility should be created so that they do not feel it is not Grameen, but it is microcredit, as a whole, which is being challenged. It is very important for the government to reassure all these thousands of microcredit organizations operating in the field so that they do not feel any adverse environment. "
No worries The government has dismissed concerns that Grameen Bank will be affected by the removal of Yunus. However, fears about the government’s attitude to microfinance institutions arose after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called Yunus a “blood sucker of the poor.”
In recent years, microfinance institutions have faced criticism for charging high interest rates. In neighboring India, local governments have accused some microcredit lenders of predatory practices aimed more at enriching investors than helping the poor.
But most economists say microfinance has played a useful role in poverty alleviation in one of the world’s poorest countries. They say the loans, given without collateral, also help poor people overcome crises such as illness or loss of job.
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