More than 3 billion is the amount of additional annual income that banks and other providers do not generate by not providing financial services to women in the same proportion as to men.
“Calculations carried out in Guatemala, Mexico and Peru reveal that financial institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean could achieve almost 3 billion dollars in additional annual income, if they optimize their offers focused on the women’s market for businesswomen and personal banking. “, reveals Milagros Rivas, General Director of Advisory Services of the BID Invest.
“Of the banks with products aimed at women, most consider them an aspect of corporate social responsibility or their environmental, social and governance initiatives, rather than an opportunity for growth and business,” she adds.
Even though women are good clients for personal and business banking, there are no products designed for them, warns the representative of the agency dependent on the Inter-American Development Bank.
About a third of commercial banks in Guatemala, Mexico and Peru have a market strategy for women, although 40 percent say they are considering developing one, according to Empresarías en Ascenso: A study on the potential of women’s banking in Latin America and the Caribbean del BID Invest.
Milagros Rivas recalls that the credit portfolios provided to women experience higher growth rates and they are active users of non-financial services. “In addition, women pay off their loans in less time than men,” he points out.
Marisela Alvarenga, General Director of the Financial Sector of the IDB Invest, comments that women own almost a quarter of entrepreneurial companies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America.
Women are a business segment full of potential, with significant collective purchasing power and significant growth prospects. But it is wasted by commercial banks in Latin America.
“We know that today in our region, women own almost a quarter of businesses, and small and medium-sized businesses,” she says.
The credit gap for women is 86 billion (about $260 per person in the United States), and is one of the highest in the world.
“Only 18 percent of financial institutions that do not have the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) segment defined have a specific offer for women entrepreneurs, while 85 percent of those that do offer products aimed at them,” he concludes.
Banks do not provide financial services in Guatemala, Mexico and Peru
| Guatemala | Mexico | Peru |
| Guatemala’s financial institutions lose 283 million dollars in additional annual income for not taking full advantage of the opportunities offered by the women’s market. Guatemala’s financial sector is made up of a large number of providers, including 17 registered banks (such as Banco Industrial, Banco G&T and Banrural), 10 financial groups, 24 microfinance institutions (such as Fundación Génesis Empresarial and Fundea) and almost a thousand cooperatives, 25 of which operate under MICOOPE). | The income opportunities open to financial institutions in the Mexican women’s market are significant with a total of 1,870 million if the unbanked and underserved segments are considered. The greatest potential is offered by the lower-middle income segment. Although it represents only 18 percent of the female population, these women with monthly incomes of up to 420 dollars represent an opportunity of 720 million dollars. Those who are in the segment The lowest-income earners, which include nearly three-quarters of women in Mexico, earn about $64 or less per month, and represent a $618 million opportunity. |
The opportunity is significant, with a total of $756 million in annual revenue that can be obtained by meeting the demand of unbanked and underserved female customers. Although all socioeconomic segments of female clients (based on monthly income) offer potential for institutions, the greatest potential is concentrated in the lowest income brackets, which comprise 86 percent of Peru’s female population. |
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– 2024-05-03 11:23:26
