INTERVIEW with Carlos Morante @MiBanco

11:35 am 
@Avenida José Domingo Orué 165, Surquillo 15047

We got to the bank, left the car and immediately entered the bank through main entrance. I was very NERVOUS. Why wouldn't I be? We were interviewing the CEO of one of the most important banks of microcredit lending. This interview was no ordinary interview, today we were leaving an impression of ourselves and the school and we were getting one of the most important interviews on camera for our documentary. 

We walked to the main desk and asked the lady for Carlos Morante, we told her we had an interview with him. She looked at us like we were kidding, but once she asked me my name she realize it was REAL because he had left a notice that we were coming. Before we could pass to the elevator the guard had to annotate the code of every technological thing we were carrying; we had two laptops and two cameras. This got me even more nervous and my stomach growling because it made everything seem more important. 

We pressed the 4th floor, when the elevator door opened we turned right and the secretary, Marisa, opened the office door. She told us that Carlos was on his way and invited us to sit down. Later, she came with two books titled "Los nuevos héroes peruanos" and told us that this was going to help us with our project.  It certainly did. This book tells different stories about microentrepreneurs who took out microcredit loans and succeeded or failed. 

While I was reading the introduction, Carlos arrived and invited us to enter his office. We set everything up and began with the interview. During this moment, I was still stressed and nervous because I was afraid that we were going to have problems with the camera like last time, or we weren't going to have enough questions. In moments like that, everything goes through your head. The only thing that calmed me down was the fact that Carlos was so chill. He made jokes and asked us questions about the camera because he likes photography. 

Once we finished setting up, the interview started. He begun by talking about Mi Banco history, which was the first bank specialized in micro finance. It started out during Fujimori's government  exactly during the terrorist time; it started as an NGO but then it formalized to a real bank.

"Mi Banco captures clients who are natural at business and have that entrepreneurial spirit", he said.

Additionally, Carlos talked about how they not only reach out to clients but they also help them improve their business. He told us that this business is not about strategy but about BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS. It's completely true; for low social class people it's hard to trust in banks because they are scared to approach them; they seem intimidating and not trustworthy. However, if you create a bond between the client and the bank then they are going to trust you more with their money and businesses. This is why I believe that it's very effective that each client is assigned to the same adviser who visits them at least twice a year or more. Also, once the relationship is built, and the client has asked for a microcredit loan, then the bank gives them the opportunity to create an account so that they don't save their money under the bed, and it also allows them to buy health care and more. 

The clients MATTER. Yes, part of the incentive is the high interest that gets high returns for the bank but also is to help those impoverished and informal businesses grow. It's to give an OPPORTUNITY.  By helping a client you are also helping a family and allowing them to improve their life style. Also, for these financially illiterate people it's important to teach them how to handle their business and their money. 

Lastly, like everything has a good side it also has a bad side. Microcredit lending, seen by Carlos eyes, does have a great POSITIVE impact on the peruvian economy. He mentioned how in 2006  40% of the economy was crude product, which came from micro enterprise, and today it's 80%.  He does believe that the micro enterprise arousing from the microcredit lending plays huge role in the economy. However he also mentioned some downfalls of microcredit lending.  Since there are many other companies that offer it today, clients take loans from more than one bank and then they can't pay back and end up in debt. Also, the fact that the interest rate is high is a plus for them but for the clients not because in the end up they ended up paying more.  Finally, some people don't pay back and then the bank has to take away money from family members or even things they own. 

Once we finished with the interview we wrapped up and got the cameras down. Carlos was very nice and knowledgable, it was a great interview. In the end we realized he knew both Gisella's and my dad's. Small, Small world. We said goodbye, thanked him and left.