Flashing plastic: Chilean artisan Juan Domingo Maggio shows off a bank card issued by his microlender.

A giant in microlending

Major Bank’s small loans make big splash in Chile

"I learnt this trade from my father. I started helping him when I was 17 years old," says Juan Domingo Maggio, now 41, who makes decorative pieces in silver, brass and silverplated metal in a small workshop at his home in a working class neighborhood in Santiago, Chile...

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