Microfinance - What can we Learn? KYC

I'm a regular listener to Peter Day's World of Business Podcasts on BBC Radio 4. A recent program about the workings of Microfinance, its benefits and potential pitfalls, brings me back to a very important concept in banking... Know Your Customer or KYC.

As microfinance depends on using one's social capital than actual collateral as the basis of a loan, it is paramount to really know the customer who's taking out the loan. It is the strength of this social capital that really pushes the customer to make the loan successful, right from asking for the right amount of loan, to using the money wisely, and then repaying it promptly. Perhaps the bankers should have kept this in mind instead of making all those NINJA loans!