Default? More Like Corrupt Officials

Staff Author /

A recent New York Times article on microcredit in India may have missed the whole point. Their headline implies massive defaults in the microcredit industry, yet in the first paragraph they state, “borrowers in one of India’s largest states have stopped repaying their loans, egged on by politicians.”

If borrowers are defaulting because their businesses are failing, or because the microcredit institute shouldn’t have given them a loan, then ok, perhaps there is a place to examine industry practices. In this case however, it sounds more like the politicians aren’t getting the bribes they asked for, and are trying to destroy the industry as a result. (more…)