'(i) Banks are not present everywhere in rural India. Even when they are present, getting a loan from a bank is much more difficult than taking a loan from informal sources. (ii) Bank loans require proper document and collateral. Absence of collateral is one of the major reasons which prevents the poor from getting bank loans. (iii) Informal lenders such as moneylenders, on the other hand, know the borrowers personally and hence are often willing to give a loan without collateral. The borrowers can, if necessary, approach the moneylenders even without repaying their earlier loans.