Competition, Loan Rates, and Information Dispersion in Nonprofit and For-Profit Microcredit Markets

We describe the competitive environment of microcredit markets globally and we study the effects of competition on loan rates of microfinance institutions (MFIs). We use a new database from rating agencies, covering 379 for-profit and nonprofit MFIs in 67 countries over 2002–2008. Controlling for interest rate ceilings and other country-specific factors, we first find that nonprofits are relatively insensitive to industry-wide concentration changes, while for-profits charge significantly lower rates in less concentrated markets. Second, we find spillover effects between the for-profit and nonprofit segments. Third, we show that the effects of concentration are consistent with an information dispersion mechanism.