Introduction : The Grameen Bank (GB) is a rural bank in Bangladesh. It provides credit to the rural poor, particularly women who own less than half an acre of land or whose assets do not exceed the value of one acre of land. Unlike traditional commercial bank loans, Grameen Bank loans need not be secured by collateral. In all thinkable ways, it provides services which enhance well-being, health and productivity of rural poor. It serves the landless in Bangladesh who are left out of the conventional banking system. Even Grameen Bank model of micro-credit has been hailed by international community and many developing countries have borrowed the model to deal with their rural economy.
Origin of Grameen Bank : Grameen Bank was founded by Dr Muhammad Yunus. In 1976, he began his action research project in village Jobra, close to the campus of the Chittagong University. He carried out an experiment by lending $28 out of his own pocket to a few village women. In 1983, Grameen Bank was established by government order as a specialized financial institution. Since then it has expanded rapidly.
Objectives : The objectives of Grameen Bank are as under:
1. To extend banking facilities to the poor men and women;
2. To eliminate the exploitation of the money-lenders;
3. To create opportunities for self-employment for the vast unutilized and under utilized manpower resources;
4. To bring the disadvantaged people within the folds of some organizational format which they can understand and operate and can find socio-political and economic strength in it through mutual support;
5. To reverse the age-old circle of "low income, low savings, low investment, low income" into an expanding system of low income investment, more income, more credit, more investment more income-"
