More than 92% of bank deposits are concentrated in 4 departments of the country: the West captures 82%, the North 5%, the Artibonite 4% and the South 2.9%. During the 12 edition of the International Finance Summit, this week at the Marriott Hotel, the head of Group Croissance, the economist Kesner Pharel, once again presented the table on the availability of bank deposits in the departments. Given the significant correlation between savings and poverty, how can we change the situation in this table?
As of September 30, 2021, all deposits in the banking system represented 429.7 billion gourdes. It rose to 433 billion gourdes in December 2021. A striking disproportion is observed in bank deposits geographically. Out of 100 gourdes deposited in the banking system, only 70 cents are collected by the department of Grand'Anse, 80 cents by the Nippes and 60 cents by the North-West.
It is true that microfinance makes it possible to financially include the excluded. It is also true that savings and credit cooperatives are gaining ground and growing at an amazing pace in areas where the presence of commercial banks is less important these days. Does the presence of credit unions in the departments where bank deposits are very low constitute a palliative or is it the definitive solution to the uneven distribution of deposits geographically?
According to data from the central bank, as of September 30, 2021, the total assets of savings and credit unions crossed the bar of 21 billion gourdes, representing a growth of 22.33%. These microfinance structures have more than one million members (members) in Haiti. Until now, banks are the most important institutions in the Haitian financial system.
According to specialists, savings can help people get out of poverty and access different loan modalities. In addition, it helps to withstand more frequent shocks in vulnerable groups. In areas where access to credit is almost non-existent, it is difficult to boost economic activities in order to create more wealth.
