Did Financial Sector Reform Result in Increased Savings and Lending from the SMEs and the Poor

This paper assess the impact of financial reforms in Zimbabwe on savings and credit availability to small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and the poor. The authors established that the reforms improved domestic savings mobilization due to high deposit rates, the emergence of new financial institutions and products and the general increase in real incomes after the 1990 economic reforms. The study uncovered that inflation and real income were the major determinants of savings during the sample period. High lending rates and the use of conventional lending methodologies by banks restricted access to credit by SMEs and the poor.