2The New Microfinance Handbook economic growth and the overall stability of the system. Increasingly, best practice in microfinance is responsible finance, defined as the delivery of retail financial services in a transparent, inclusive, and equitable fashion (BMZ, CGAP, and IFC 2011).
The guidelines are to regulate microfinance activities and the establishment and operations of Micro-Finance Banks [MFBs] that seek to take savings/deposits from members of the public and engage in microfinance intermediation services for their clients in Nigeria.
110The New Microfinance Handbook their relationships with governments and/or con- ditions specified in lending agreements, funders can influence the use of the funds by the govern- ments.
A comprehensive framework significantly based on micro lending as an activity should, therefore, be developed and made applicable to all supervised institutions that offer this service, regardless of whether they are licensed as a bank or new institutional form created specifically for microfinance.