MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Women in developing economies are 20 percent less likely to have a bank account than men and are 17 percent less likely to have borrowed formally, the World Bank Group (WBG) reports.
"They have less access to safe savings vehicles and are more likely to use informal, and therefore probably riskier and more expensive, mechanisms," WBG stressed in a Saturday news report.
According to the bank's estimates, overall, two and a half billion people in the world do not have access to formal financial services.
"This includes 80% of the poor — those who live on less than $2 a day," WBG emphasized.
According to WBG, improved access to financial services has a variety of economic and social benefits, such as reduced rural poverty and increased employment.
"In Mexico, the opening of 800 bank branches in 2002 that focused on low-income clients led to a 7.6% increase in the number of informal business owners. Total employment also rose by 1.4% and average income went up by about 7%," the bank said.
The World Bank Group includes five international organizations: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA), which make up the World Bank, as well as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
Based in Washington D.C., WBG is an observer at the United Nations Development Group. According to its website, the bank, which was established in 1944, strives to end world poverty and boost global prosperity by providing financial and technical assistance to developing countries.
