This does not mean that government and donors must abandon their hopes to
improve access to financial services for the rural poor. It does mean, however, that they probably should stop the use of public development banks to address the issue. This old approach undermined rural development. The rich got the loans and did not repay them, and this reduced access for all.
Public entities might instead try to strengthen the market institutions that
support a stable bank system. High transaction costs, imperfect information, and high
risk are reduced not by decree but by infrastructure and experiments in technology.
With time, greater deposits might lead to greater access to loans for the rural poor.