WSBI to Develop New Strategies to Increase the Number of Savings Accounts with Member Banks

BRUSSELS, Belgium--WSBI, the World Savings Banks Institute, with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will assist about ten of its members to develop projects to increase affordable, accessible, and sustainable savings services for poor people. The ultimate objective of this program is to double the number of savings accounts for poor people worldwide.  Access to savings will give poor people the tools that they need to manage their unpredictable financial lives, build assets, and seize opportunities.

This grant was announced Nov. 16 by Melinda French Gates at the Global Savings Forum in Seattle, Washington, as a part of the foundation’s $500 million pledge to expand access to savings accounts and help the world’s poor build financial security. The pledge included a package of six grants, totaling $40 million, from the foundation’s Financial Services for the Poor initiative, to support projects and partnerships that will bring quality, affordable savings accounts and other financial services to the doorsteps of the poor in the developing world.

To read the full press release, visit the WSBI web site.