Kathmandu, Feb 5:Financial experts said at a seminar today that savings was the soul of micro-finance activities and stressed on the need to develop new savings products to suit the need of the poor people.

“Savings – the act of choosing not to use cash – is the fundamental act of financial activity,” Dr. Stuart Rutherford said. “The financial services for the poor are services that help them manage money and turn savings into a  lump sum,” Rutherford told the inaugural ceremony of the one-day seminar on Savings Services in Micro-finance here this morning.

Good financial services should be convenient, quick, appropriate flexible and affordable, added Rutherford, the founder Chairperson of SAFE SAVE micro-finance programme in Bangladesh.

Micro-savings – one of the most important components of micro-finance – has been recognised as a powerful tool for mobilising the small and rural households towards empowerment and growth, Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Dr. Tilak Rawal said in his inaugural address.

Rawal stressed on the need to lead the existing micro-finance projects ahead in a sustainable manner and assured the micro-finance dealers of a favourable policy.

Micro-finance services started in 1956 in Nepal with the advent of co-operative movement and establishment of 17 credit co-operatives in different parts of the country. At present there are 13 commercial banks, two development banks, five Grameen Bikas Banks, two Grameen replicators, 44 finance companies, four small farmer co-operatives and 25 non-governmental organisations licensed financial intermediaries. Besides these, there are thousands of non-licensed institutions that offer savings and credit services.

Most of these institutions, however, focus primarily on credit with limited choice of savings products. There is still a dire need of customer tailored individual and voluntary savings products. The seminar revolves just around this need.

Organised by the Centre for Micro-finance – a project implemented by Canadian Centre for International Studies and Co-operation – with the support of USAID, it aims at disseminating information on existing savings products, designing new savings products and also reinforcing savings as an essential financial service for the poor.