[OPE] Dutch Princess on dollars & sense

Huh? Dutch princess Máxima, the popular Argentian wife of the Dutch crown prince, had an interesting comment to make on Saturday at the Doha (Qatar) UNCDF summit: only 20% of the world population, i.e. one in five, actually has a savings account. (quoted in Spits, 1 Dec 2008). Maxima offered Ban-Ki-Moon a report from the Advisor's Group Advocacy Committee. The Group said that 2.1 billion people lack access to basic financial services. http://www.uncdf.org/english/news_and_events/index.php?record=53

"Access to a diverse range of financial products and services can directly provide individuals and families with the tools to generate income, build capital, and properly manage unexpected risks, all of which provide them with the wherewithal to pave their own way out of poverty," said H.E. Mr. Marc Bichler, Ambassador and Director of Development Cooperation, Luxembourg and Chair of the UNAG.

UN Advisor and Managing Director of Micro-Credit Ratings International Limited (M-CRIL), Sanjay Sinha, situated inclusive finance within the global economic context. "The current economic crisis renders financial inclusion more important than ever before," said Sinha. "The "unbanked" are not subprime. In fact, low-income households make good, reliable banking clients if banks approach them with appropriate products and practices. And their inclusion will reap real economic dividends for communities and countries alike." http://www.uncdf.org/english/news_and_events/index.php?record=53

The official Maxima site is here: http://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/english/content.jsp?objectid=18195 but it takes a long time to load. Another site here: http://www.reinamaxima.com/

J.

_______________________________________________
ope mailing list
ope@lists.csuchico.edu
https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/ope
Received on Mon Dec 1 14:44:26 2008