Grameen Bank does what most conventional banks fail to do: provide credit to the poorest people without any collateral. The underlying vision of Muhammed Yunus – founder, managing director, and Nobel laureate –  was to lend to people based on their potential, rather than material possessions. Grameen Bank has followed through on that vision by adopting innovative strategies:

• Borrowers own 95% of the total equity of the bank

• 97% of its borrowers are women

• Loans are 100% financed from its deposits

• Interest rates are low

• Those with nothing are more likely to get loans than those with more

• Branches are located throughout rural Bangladesh

• If a borrower is having difficulty paying back a loan, the Bank works with the borrower to set up a new payment plan rather than foreclose or report them to a credit agency

Overall, Grameen Bank is a successful model that has deviated from conventional banking policies, providing more that 7 billion U.S. dollars to borrowers and lifting more that 65% of them above the poverty line.