The easier availability of first mortgages has helped many marginal borrowers obtain loans and it has helped banks sustain loan volume and profits.

But looser underwriting standards and the more widespread penetration of riskier mortgage products have raised questions about how these loans will fare in the event of a rise in interest rates or a softening in house prices,

But looser underwriting standards and the more widespread penetration of riskier mortgage products have raised questions about how these loans will fare in the event of a rise in interest rates or a softening in house prices.

L.A. seems to have helped them. It's easier out there because there is less pressure. They seem to have left the bumps they were having over here behind them.

Microfinance does not require previous experience or loans to the same extent as a small-business loan, so it's easier for women to enter the micro sector.

First of all, it is a loan,