Country-Level Savings Assessment Tool: Improving the Supply of Deposit Services for Poor People

This technical guide to the Country Level Savings Assessment (CLSA) Tool aims to help analysts, researchers, governments, and donors in its implementation. It explains the areas of analysis covered by CLSA, methodology adopted, and the manner in which it can be tailored to the needs of the commissioning agency.

CLSAs are financial sector studies that identify opportunities and obstacles in increasing poor people’s access to formal sector deposit services. A CLSA first examines the demand for savings mechanisms among poor clients, and then evaluates the ability of the financial sector to meet that demand. The supply side evaluation proceeds at the micro (retail institutions), meso (financial sector infrastructure) and macro (policy) levels.

The guide states that the CLSA methodology enables analysts to make recommendations to address weaknesses and build on strengths in the effort to improve supply of deposit services to the poor. It focuses stakeholders’ attention on increasing access to savings services and helps them identify country-specific, locally appropriate ways for doing so. Finally, without concerted efforts to make deposit services more accessible and affordable, savings may remain neglected.