metadata: authors: 0: author: Bruhn,Miriam
1: author: Reddy,Rekha
2: author: Ruiz Ortega,Claudia
count: Mexico
docna: 0: docna: The Role of Technical Assistance in
            Expanding Access to Finance
docty: Policy Research Working Paper
subtopic: Finance and Development,Legal Institutions of the Market Economy,Rural Finance,Financial Intermediation,Financial Crisis Management & Restructuring
teratopic: Public Sector Development,Finance and Financial Sector Development
abstracts: cdata!: This paper links the literatures on
            technical assistance and access to finance by examining a
            Mexican program that provided capacity-building grants to
            nonbank financial institutions (NBFIs) serving micro, small,
            and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Using ten years of data from
            81 credit unions and a staggered difference-in-differences
            approach, the analysis shows that the program improved
            NBFIs&#x2019; efficiency, enabling them to obtain more
            funding from private sources and leading to a 79 percent
            increase in lending. The findings suggest that technical
            assistance initiatives can strengthen NBFIs&#x2019;
            ability to expand credit access for underserved MSMEs.
geo_reg_key: 119228,517191
repnme: repnme: The Role of Technical Assistance in
            Expanding Access to Finance
display_title: The Role of Technical Assistance in
            Expanding Access to Finance
listing_relative_url: /research/2018/06/30184030/role-technical-assistance-expanding-access-finance
topicv3: Rural Finance m1326285 191,Credit Unions m1326727 1256,Financial Intermediaries m1326973 2196,Financial Institutions m1505015 3797,Credit Risk m1505083 3885
publishtoextweb_dt: 2018-06-21T00:00:00Z
historic_topic: Public Sector Development,Finance and Financial Sector Development
no_of_pages: 2
author_keys: 0: author_key: 955274
1: author_key: 1008929
2: author_key: 1174517
model_extractions: Policy Research Working Paper 8483 The Role of Technical Assistance in Expanding Access to Finance _Miriam Bruhn Rekha Reddy Claudia Ruiz Ortega_ Development Economics Development Research Group June 2018
Policy Research Working Paper 8483

# **Abstract**

This paper links the literatures on technical assistance and access to finance by examining a Mexican program that provided capacity-building grants to nonbank financial institutions (NBFIs) serving micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Using ten years of data from 81 credit unions and a staggered difference-in-differences approach, the analysis shows that the program improved NBFIs’ efficiency, enabling them to obtain more funding from private sources and leading to a 79 percent increase in lending. The findings suggest that technical assistance initiatives can strengthen NBFIs’ ability to expand credit access for underserved MSMEs.

This paper is a product of the Development Research Group, Development Economics. It is part of a larger effort by the World Bank to provide open access to its research and make a contribution to development policy discussions around the world. Policy Research Working Papers are also posted on the Web at http://www.worldbank.org/research. The authors may be contacted at mbruhn@worldbank.org, rreddy5@worldbank.org and cruizortega@worldbank.org.

_The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent._ Produced by the Research Support Team