The First Women Bank -- why and for whom?
Bilquees, F.
Pakistan Development Review 30(4 Pt 2): 745-751
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0030-9729 PMID: 12285310 Document Number: 326547
The First Women Bank of Pakistan, which commenced operations in December 1989, has over a period of one year set up branches in the large cities of the country. This paper attempts to look into the factors behind the establishment of the bank and its working strategy and to clarify the associated confusions and contradictions. Following an introduction, Section 2 puts forward the various factors underlying the establishment of a separate Pakistani bank for women. Section 3 describes the operational strategy of the bank with special focus on the nature of the clientele and credit services of the bank. Section 4 provides a conclusion, whilst Section 5 submits some policy recommendations. Data are derived from bank published literature, informal discussions with the bank staff and personal observations. It seems that at present the bank is establishing a few top women entrepreneurs at the expense of the majority of poor, deserving women. The bank needs to decide whether it is merely commercial, or is also a development institution. If it has the latter function, it should define its target groups, and credit for high income women should be conditional on their investment in female employment. A comment by S. Rauf is appended.