Till the late nineties bank loans were reserved for a minority because so many people had no land title which the banks ask as collateral. The situation has changed, most people now have the "red book", and most have deposited it at once at the bank for a loan!

In Cambodia bank credit is basically limited to the cities, but many institutions offer microcredit: ACLEDA, AMRET etc. They have become very large institutions and use methods which are not suitable for the very poor.

Viêt Nam Plus has had up to 1000 women's groups who held weekly meetings to deposit their savings, borrow and reimburse their credits. When bank loans became more accessible, many groups have stopped functioning.

Small family enterprises often create many jobs but banks are flexible enough for them.So we lend them at 12%/year.