Authors of the paper claim that while there may be some anecdotal evidence, there have been no major negative changes in the profitability or risk profiles of MFIs. Their study was based on the 2008 4th Quarter figures of Symbiotics 50 Benchmark which tracks large microfinance institutions worldwide.
The authors however recognize that microfinance as it is today, given greater links to domestic and international financial markets, may still be affected by the financial crisis. However, they iterate that past investments in building a sound foundation for the sector and the vast untapped market of credit worthy clients will ensure that microfinance remains resilient amidst this current crisis.