TRENDS
Regarding institutions
- There will be an increase in the number of regulated and supervised financial institutions intermediating with microenterprises.
- It is to be expected that the increase in the competitiveness generated by regulated institutions will lead to a drop in the number of cooperative institutions and NGOs operating in the sector, although they are unlikely to disappear as they constitute an alternative to the commercial financial system that coincides with the values of Asian culture and socialist tradition. NGOs can play a part in the introduction of innovative experiences, such as the development of special products, or in the intermediation with a specific target population. Considering the relative importance cooperative institutions have in attracting savings, they will continue to work with niche markets, with a small number of people and in remote areas.
- First-tier public banks will continue to be the main players. Through the influence of cooperation agencies and donor incentives, some of them will become fully or partially privatised, or will start operating under more commercial terms that will diminish the risk of distorting the industry.
- he processes of upgrading NGOs will continue, but above all there is expected to be an intensification of the processes of upgrading NBFIs into specialised banks.
- There might possibly be more movement in the transnationalisation of institutions. Successful institutions find it easy to find both private and international investors as partners to support them in this process.
- International banks will increase their presence in the sector, particularly in large markets such as China or India.
- Distribution will continue to be developed on the back of technology and through cooperation with large telecommunications corporations. The scheme involving a financial group and a telecommunications company to open a bank in the Philippines whose methodology will be based on the use of mobile phones could well spread to the rest of the region in the near future.
- Problems are expected to start appearing due to the devaluation of national currencies in those institutions with debt in foreign currencies.
