Microfinance a Growing Lifeline for U.S. Working Poor

Microcredit has taken off in the United States since the financial crisis, with thousands of low-income clients who do not quality for credit cards or traditional loans borrowing small amounts to finance budding businesses, writes The New York Times.

The number of micro-borrowers tripled from 2008 to 2011, according to data from the Aspen Institute and Grameen America, the U.S. arm of the nonprofit Grameen Bank, which pioneered the use of microlending as an anti-poverty tool in Bangladesh.

With 11 branches in U.S. cities, six of them in New York, Grameen America has 18,000 clients and has lent more than $100-million. The Times article focuses on a Queens branch that largely serves Latina immigrants, who primarily use the small, collateral-free loans to launch or maintain small businesses.