Microfinance Banana Skins 2009 describes the risks facing the microfinance industry as seen by an international sample of practitioners, investors, regulators and observers of the microfinance sector. It updates a previous survey carried out in early 2008. This survey was conducted in April and May 2009 and is based on 430 responses from 82 countries and multinational institutions.
The questionnaire and accompanying guidance (reproduced in the Appendix) was in three parts. In the first, respondents were asked to describe, in their own words, their main concerns about the microfinance sector over the next 2-3 years. In the second, they were asked to rate a list of potential risks – or Banana Skins – both by severity and whether they were rising, steady or falling. In the third, they were asked to rate the preparedness of microfinance institutions to handle the risks they identified. Replies were confidential, but respondents could choose to be named.