As of March 2013, there were 186 banks with microfinance operations reaching out to more than 1 million clients. Their combined savings have reached 8.2 billion pesos, higher than the 8 billion pesos they have borrowed. This is the first time that total microfinance loan portfolio is exceeded by the savings component. This suggests that while microfinance clients take out loans, saving is sustained.
The International Monetary Fund has been criticized and is still under attack from many quarters for not diagnosing the problem at an earlier stage, and for the way the Fund eventually handled the crisis situation in individual countries. The medicine prescribed by the Fund (the Fund’s “conditionalities”) is blamed for killing the patient, rather than curing the illness.