Regardless, Yunus makes a number of salient points about poverty and the failure of conventional aid programs. First, he acknowledges the existence of an aid "industry" that fails to target the poorest of the poor. This group will largely not benefit from World Bank-sponsored infrastructure projects often touted as growth promoters in developing countries.

Second, he observed that banks don't see much benefit to offering microloans to illiterate rural folk with no collateral. Yunus, who believes that credit is essentially a human right, calls this flagrant financial apartheid. In contrast, his microcredit models (Grameen and Grameen II) are extremely simple to administer and use peer pressure and trust to maintain a high payback rate.

Third, Grameen has made considerable effort to grant 50% of its loans to women. In rural Bangladesh, purdah and other restrictive customs are quite common. This makes it exceedingly difficult to even speak to rural Bangladeshi women, much less convince them to get bank loans. I found it interesting that purdah was strictly enforced but usury (which is frowned upon in Islam) seemed to be widespread, based on Yunus's accounts of corrupt moneylenders and wholesalers.

Fourth, Yunus made an interesting case for corporations operating with a social conscience. Grameen Bank spawned a number of sister enterprises for textiles, energy, technology, education and even a market-leading mobile phone company. Some of these sectors strike me as traditional government domains in Western countries. Reading about these companies (and Grameen Bank's insurance and healthcare programs) gave me the impression that the organization was almost a parallel government in Bangladesh, but market-driven and not strangled by bureaucracy and corruption (or perhaps it is bureaucratic and corrupt, but simply more effective at delivering services to Bangladeshi citizens).

Finally, Yunus commented on the viability of his model for developed countries. He described visiting with some poor Americans with no access to credit, and their enthusiasm at the idea of small loans for home-based businesses. The problem I see here is that most of these tiny operations would be unregistered and illegal. In developing countries where black market businesses, bribery and inefficient tax collection are the norm, escaping notice would be easy. In developed countries, running an illegal business would be much riskier. Yunus acknowledges this problem, and also criticizes the social welfare system for decreasing (and penalizing) entrepreneurial spirit among poor people, resulting in institutionalized, generational poverty.

Overall, Banker to the Poor is a quick, provocative read. Good for cynics and idealists alike.