El Salvador Financial Sector Assessment Program Update : Financial Inclusion
Financial service provision has expanded since the 2004 financial sector assessment program (FSAP) update, but access to financial services can expand greatly through mobile banking. An estimated 47 percent of adults in El Salvador have deposit acc...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
Washington, DC
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/419051468233694849/El-Salvador-Financial-inclusion-technical-note http://hdl.handle.net/10986/27768 |
| Summary: | Financial service provision has expanded
since the 2004 financial sector assessment program (FSAP)
update, but access to financial services can expand greatly
through mobile banking. An estimated 47 percent of adults in
El Salvador have deposit accounts at a regulated financial
institution, similar to the Latin American average. Although
a range of range of bank and non-bank institutions serve the
micro and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) finance market,
significant financial services provision is occurring
outside of the regulatory perimeter. Improvements in credit
information systems, simplification of credit documentation
processes, and a strengthened legal framework for factoring
can help facilitate SMEs access to credit. Issues of
financial transparency and consumer protection are of
increasing importance to the Salvadoran authorities,
although resources for enforcement are limited. Both public
and private entities are engaging in educational activities
to promote financial literacy have the potential to play an
important role in curbing over indebtedness. However, the
consumer defense agency (Defensoria al Consumidor) lacks
sufficient resources for enforcement of consumer protection
laws. This paper is divided into following six parts: first
part gives overview of financial access and usage patterns;
the second part gives information on funding and savings
products commercialized; the third part gives market
participants; fourth part is legal and regulatory
impediments to credit; fifth part deals with supervisory and
regulatory perimeter issues; and sixth part is transparency,
consumer protection, and financial literacy. |
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