雙語閱讀｜非洲信貸聯盟興盛但面臨監管難題

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THE most recent time Moses Kibet Biegon needed a quick loan was when his roof blew away. He got one from the Imarisha Savings and Credit Co-operative, in Kericho in western Kenya. Imarisha channels the savings of its 57,000 members into loans for school fees, business projects or, in Mr Biegon』s case, roof repairs. It runs a fund to help with medical bills. And it pays dividends to its members from its investments, which include a shopping plaza that it opened last year.

就在最近，摩西·卡貝特·比貢（Moses Kibet Biegon ）急需一筆貸款，原因風刮跑了他家的房頂。他從肯亞西部城市凱里喬的Imarisha儲蓄與信貸合作社借到了這筆貸款。Imarisha將其57000名儲戶的存款以各種形式貸出去，如學費、企業項目或像比貢修房頂這樣的個人貸款。Imarisha還建立了一個用於補助醫療費用的基金賬戶。此外，所有的成員者能從Imarisha的投資項目（如在2016年投入運營的購物大廈）獲得紅利。

Savings and credit co-operatives (SACCOs) like Imarisha are the African version of credit unions: member-owned co-ops, usually organised around a community or workplace. Some are rural self-help groups with a few dozen members and a safe. Others have branch networks and mobile apps. The largest SACCOs rival banks; Mwalimu National, which serves Kenyan teachers, has even bought one.

像Imarisha這樣的儲蓄與信貸合作社（SACCOs）堪稱非洲版的信貸聯盟：合作組織由成員共同擁有，通常以社區或工作場為基礎進行組織。有些屬於農村自助團體，成員只有幾十個，安全係數高；有些則擁有強大的分支網路和靈活的移動應用。專為肯亞教師提供服務的 Mwalimu National是儲蓄與信貸合作社最大的競爭銀行，甚至也購買了一家銀行。

The co-operative model brings 「a more humane face」 to finance, argues Robert Shibutse, Mwalimu』s boss. But SACCOs are not just a cuddly sideshow. In Kenya, where they are strongest, they provide more loans for land, housing, education and agriculture than banks or microfinance institutions. The World Bank estimates that SACCOs and other co-operatives account for over 90% of all housing credit in the country. In Rwanda they attract twice as many savers as banks. Membership is growing in Ghana and Tanzania.

Mwalimu的老闆Robert Shibutse認為，合作社模式使金融「更加人性化」。不過，儲蓄與信貸合作社不僅僅只有拳腳功夫。在肯亞，合作社的實力最為宏大，較之與普通銀行和小額貸款機構，它們能為土地、住房、教育和農業提供更大金額的貸款。據世界銀行的估算，在肯亞所有的住房信貸中，儲蓄與信貸合作社以及其它合作社提供的貸款超過90%。在盧安達，合作社的儲戶數量是銀行儲戶的兩倍。迦納和坦尚尼亞的合作社儲戶數量也在不斷增加。

SACCOs can be generous lenders, in part because their members are often colleagues or neighbours. That makes it easier to judge risks, urge repayment and serve the folk that banks tend to shun. They fill a 「vacuum」 in rural areas, says Lance Kashugyera, who leads a Ugandan government project on financial inclusion. In Kenya SACCOs typically offer better interest rates than banks. But members can view a loan as a right and are often allowed to borrow up to three times their savings. In 2016 the largest Kenyan SACCOs had loan-to-deposit ratios of 109%, meaning they had to use other sources of funding than their members. 「The demand for credit is high, but the savings culture is poor,」 laments an officer at a Ugandan SACCO.

儲蓄與信貸合作社之所以能扮演慷慨借貸者的角色，一方面是因為儲戶之間通常要麼是同事關係要麼是鄰居關係。這就使得借貸者更容易判斷風險、催促還款以及服務大眾百姓，而後者往往是普通銀行不願過多涉及的。儲蓄與信貸合作社填補了農村借貸的「空缺」， Lance Kashugyera這樣說道。Lance領導烏干達的一個政府普惠金融項目。在肯亞，儲蓄與信貸合作社的利率通常要高於其他銀行，但是儲戶有權選擇是否出借，通常來說，他們可以最多借到三倍於其儲蓄金額的貸款。2016年，肯亞最大的儲蓄與信用合作社的貸存比率為109%，即借貸的外來資金數量超過其儲蓄資金數量。「貸款的需求非常高，而人們的儲蓄意識很薄弱。」烏干達一家儲蓄與信貸合作社的工作人員這樣感嘆道。

In Uganda the greatest danger has come from politicians bearing gifts. In 2005 the government promised 「a SACCO in every sub-county」, backed up with donations and cheap credit. Local bigshots hastily formed co-ops to get their hands on the money. Members saw loans as a handout from the ruling party and made little effort to repay. When the cash ran out, SACCOs failed. 「They were a bit political,」 sighs James Lubambo, an official in Iganga district, reeling off the names of 11 local SACCOs that have recently collapsed.

在烏干達，最大的危險來源於官員收禮。2005年，政府承諾在每個次級縣設立至少一家儲蓄與信貸合作社，提供捐款與低息貸款等援助。於是當地有錢人風風火火地成立合作社， 用以收錢。合作社成員們將借貸看作是執政黨的一種施捨，幾乎不打算償還貸款。當現金借完了后，儲蓄與信貸合作社就破產了。「它們都很政治性質的，」 伊甘加區的James Lubambo嘆氣道，一口氣列出了當地11家最近破產的儲蓄與信貸合作社的名字。

Indeed, the state of SACCOs often reflects a country』s politics. After a poor showing in Kampala in last year』s elections, Yoweri Museveni, Uganda』s president, has personally delivered 100m shilling ($28,000) cheques to SACCOs in the city. In Rwanda, by contrast, an efficient but overbearing government has built a successful SACCO sector from scratch—even if a quarter of members felt obliged to join out of a sense of civic duty, according to one survey.

事實上，儲蓄與信貸合作社的現狀通常反映了一個國家的政治。2016年選舉中，烏干達總統約韋里·穆塞韋尼(Yoweri Museveni)在坎帕拉表現不佳后，親自向該市的儲蓄與信貸合作社發放了1億先令面值(摺合28000美元)的支票。相比之下，一項調查顯示，在盧安達，儘管有四分之一的成員是出於公民義務感才不得不加入，高效但專橫的政府仍從零做起，成功建立起一個儲蓄與信貸合作社。

There are better ways for governments to help. One is by plugging the yawning gaps in regulation, which in some countries bundles SACCOs together with other, non-financial co-operatives. Occasional tales of failure and fraud also do little for public confidence. In 2010 Kenya created a new regulator for the largest 「deposit-taking」 SACCOs: it is gradually enforcing capital requirements, but remains hugely under-resourced. Uganda brought in a new set of rules on July 1st, after more than a decade of discussion. It is also running a seven-year project which, among other things, will train leaders in small rural SACCOs to manage savings and credit better.

對於政府來說，提供幫助的辦法有更多。其一是堵住監管中的巨大缺口，在某些國家，這些缺口與其他非金融合作社捆綁在一起。即使是偶爾的失敗和欺詐也會損害公眾信心。2010年，肯亞為「吸收存款」的國內最大的儲蓄與信貸合作社創造了一個新的監管機構：它正在逐步實施資本條件的要求，但是資金仍十分缺乏。經過十多年的討論，烏干達於7月1日提出了一套新的規則。它還在運行一個為期七年的項目，將對小型農村儲蓄與信貸合作社領導人提供培訓，以更好地管理儲蓄和信貸。

There are other challenges. Kenyan SACCOs face a squeeze as a rate cap on bank loans intensifies competition for the most creditworthy borrowers. And they will need to adapt to mobile banking, which is helping banks reach customers that SACCOs could once keep to themselves. But the co-operative model remains distinctive. Mr Biegon doubts that a bank would have financed his roof repairs. The SACCO, he says, is 「our hope」.

此外，也還有其他難題。銀行貸款的利率上限加劇了對信譽良好的借款人的競爭，肯亞的儲蓄與信貸合作社面臨著受擠壓的壓力。他們還需要適應移動銀行業務，這些業務能幫助銀行接觸到以前只屬於儲蓄與信貸合作社的客戶。儘管如此，合作社的模式仍與眾不同。比貢懷疑一家銀行是否會為他的屋頂維修提供資金。他表示，儲蓄余與信貸合作社是「我們的希望」。