BOCHUM (NNA) - The demand for microloans in Germany has proved far larger than initially anticipated. According to Falk Zientz, head of microfinance at the GLS Bank, which was asked by the German government in 2010 to roll out a microfinance scheme across Germany, the response of borrowers to the loans on offer had been far larger than anticipated.

So far approximately 6,630 microloans with a volume of 39.8m euros had been disbursed since 2010 while the initial expectation had not been more than 2,400. The number of cooperating regional microfinance institutes had also grown from 10 to 45.

The GLS Bank aims to continue with its campaign to make the availability of the loans even better known. The scheme will run until 2015 and the aim is to provide approximately 25,000 loans within that period.

The German government and European Social Fund have made 100m euros available to underwrite the scheme.

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Item: 120123-01EN Date: 23 January 2012

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