ABSTRACT
Bolivia is a poor nation whose per capita income is higher than only a couple of countries in the Americas. The loan recovery performance in Bolivian rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs)- locally called pasanakus, is in marked contrast to the loan default problems suffered by government banks. Pasanakus are popular because they are providing the financial services most often demanded by individuals in Bolivia, while the formal financial intermediaries often do not. The fact that ROSCAs are common in some places in the Americas where large numbers of Indians exist, including Bolivia, suggests that pasanakus may have evolved out of traditional systems of cooperation. The loan recovery performance in Bolivian ROSCAs is in marked contrast to the loan default problems suffered by government banks. A large majority of the office and commission pasanaku organizers are women, in sharp contrast to the very limited number of women found in high-level positions in Bolivian banks.
