Less than two years ago, nagging delinquency problems started to crop up in one tiny corner of the U.S. home finance market – so-called subprime mortgages.

They made the dream of first-time home ownership possible for many. Yet today, an estimated two million subprime loans appear likely to default. And the crisis has set off worldwide concerns about how the resulting credit crunch and looming U.S. recession will affect growth in countries rich and poor. What does this mean for microfinance?

News coverage in places like India often depicts microfinance as a means to protect poor consumers from the potentially exploitative informal sector, but microfinance scandals are also front page news. The topic of protecting low-income clients gets only hotter when publications like The Economist raise the question: “Is it acceptable to profit from the poor?” In this context, we asked CGAP’s Kate McKee what protecting consumers is really all about.

As the visibility of microfinance has intensified, so has the scrutiny. Made popular in large part by the promise of doing well by doing good, attention is being focused on how to ensure that access to finance results in benefits for clients. A lively and important debate on the principles and practices of “responsible finance” is buzzing across the field. CGAP is engaging investors and policymakers so they are better equipped to reinforce emerging efforts by microfinance providers to protect client interests.