that had been credit customers of Elektra. And, by opening small branches within existing department stores, the bank could keep its facilities costs low.

# F. Non-bank initiatives to attend the unbanked

Some finance companies, institutions that make loans but do not take deposit accounts, have sought to serve lower-income households. Formally, these non-bank financial institutions are known as _Sociedades Financieras de Objeto Limitado_ (SOFOLES). They are also called “specialized” banks since they are exclusively dedicated to one sector (for example: construction, automobile, etc) or activity (for example, credit cards). They finance their assets by selling debt securities or by obtaining financing from other financial institutions. Their main activity consists in granting loans for the acquisition of specific assets such as cars or houses, or issuing credit cards. SOFOLES has become the main source of financing for new auto purchases, making it possible for many people to buy cars who might not be able to obtain bank financing for this purpose. The housing SOFOLES do not generally provide housing financing to low-income families. Their market niche is middle- to high-income households.

|**Table 25. **|<br>**Emergence o**<br>**CONSUMER**|**f non ban **<br>**CREDIT**|<br>**kcredit (as p**|**ercentag**|<br>**e of GDP)**<br>**HOUSING**|**CREDIT**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**TOTAL**<br>**FINANCING**|**BANKS**|**NON BANKS**||**TOTAL**<br>**FINANCING**|**BANKS**|**NON BANKS**|
|**1994**|**3.6**|**3.4**|**0.2**|**1994**|**7.3**|**7.3**|**0.0**|
|**1995**|**2.5**|**2.3**|**0.2**|**1995**|**9.2**|**9.1**|**0.1**|
|**1996**|**1.6**|**1.4**|**0.2**|**1996**|**8.6**|**8.5**|**0.0**|
|**1997**|**1.4**|**1.1**|**0.3**|**1997**|**7.8**|**7.6**|**0.2**|
|**1998**|**1.4**|**0.9**|**0.5**|**1998**|**7.0**|**6.7**|**0.3**|
|**1999**|**1.3**|**0.8**|**0.5**|**1999**|**6.0**|**5.6**|**0.4**|
|**2000**|**1.4**|**0.9**|**0.5**|**2000**|**4.4**|**3.9**|**0.5**|
|**2001**|**1.7**|**1.1**|**0.6**|**2001**|**3.9**|**3.1**|**0.7**|
|**2002**|**2.1**|**1.4**|**0.7**|**2002**|**3.8**|**2.8**|**1.0**|
|**2003***|**2.4**|**1.7**|**0.7**|**2003***|**3.7**|**2.4**|**1.2**|
||**BUSINESS**|**CREDIT**|||**TOTAL FIN**|**ANCING**||
||**TOTAL**<br>**FINANCING**|**BANKS**|**NON BANKS**||**TOTAL**<br>**FINANCING**|**BANKS**|**NON BANKS**|
|**1994**|**59.6**|**32.5**|**27.1**|**1994**|**70.5**|**43.1**|**27.3**|
|**1995**|**58.1**|**31.1**|**26.9**|**1995**|**69.8**|**42.6**|**27.2**|
|**1996**|**46.7**|**24.7**|**22.0**|**1996**|**56.9**|**34.7**|**22.3**|
|**1997**|**40.5**|**19.5**|**20.9**|**1997**|**49.7**|**28.3**|**21.5**|
|**1998**|**38.8**|**16.4**|**22.4**|**1998**|**47.2**|**24.1**|**23.1**|
|**1999**|**31.6**|**13.0**|**18.6**|**1999**|**39.0**|**19.4**|**19.5**|
|**2000**|**29.4**|**10.3**|**19.0**|**2000**|**35.2**|**15.1**|**20.1**|
|**2001**|**26.8**|**8.8**|**18.0**|**2001**|**32.4**|**13.0**|**19.4**|
|**2002**|**27.4**|**8.6**|**18.8**|**2002**|**33.4**|**12.8**|**20.5**|
|**2003***<br>**Source: Banco**<br>*** Up to septemb**|**27.8**<br>**de México Web Pag**<br>**er 2003**|**7.9**<br>**e January 2004**|**19.9**<br>|**2003***|**33.8**|**12.1**|**21.8**|

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