One way to strengthen the institutional infrastructure of rural financial markets
is to strengthen the regulatory authority. Strict supervision and the privatization of the
provincial banks have already produced greater confidence in the bank system and
30 more competition. Trust and strength also protect against runs on deposits and thus improve access to savings services, the most important financial product for the rural poor. Constraints on loans may loosen as deposits increase. In time, competition may increase access without adverse side-effects as it prompts banks to search for virgin niches and nudges banks towards poorer, smaller, and more rural clients.