*4.2. Credit*

The concept of credit is related to macroeconomic factors, such as inflation and financial market volatility, which have produced small and inefficient financial systems in Latin America. The authors of [59] stated that the consequences of the macroeconomic environment of a country are reflected in its financial intermediaries (banks, financial corporations, insurance companies, among others) and their characteristics. As indicated by [60], the function of financial intermediaries is to stimulate and collect savings in an economy, and to give credit to those who require capital and thus develop their economic activities.

Another aspect to consider is credit rationing. For [61], this rationing occurs when the borrower is denied credit, even if he/she is willing to meet the provisions of the loan contract. The authors of [62] also suggested that credit rationing occurs in two ways: first, when one or all members of a group are rationed; second, when some members of the group are rationed. Finally, [63] mentioned that credit restrictions can be classified in analyses of the credit market environment into those on the credit offering side and those on credit demanders. In conclusion, credit rationing has several factors that look for imperfections, such as high interest rates, credit ceilings, usury laws, the level of financial intermediation, the number of borrowers and credit risk, among others.

#### *4.3. Process of Analyzing Financial Knowledge Levels*

This section presents the main steps taken to analyze financial knowledge levels and the use of the new method of criteria satisfaction to obtain the best alternative. The decision-making problem is associated with savings and credit perceptions through a combination of the features, to determine which of them satisfies personal criteria. For this purpose, this study used a dataset of the 13 provinces of the department of Boyacá, Colombia, regarding financial knowledge. For the selection of the database sample, the provinces were classified into three groups in proportion to the population, and the best offers of financial services in the cities and municipalities were established as the selection criteria. A 95% confidence level and a 5% error were selected for a sample of 1914 people. Following is the step-by-step decision-making process.

Step 1. Analyze and determine the significant characteristics for savings (Sav) and credit (Cred) perceptions, which comprise six actions for Sav and five actions for Cred, which are considered to be characteristics. Each characteristic of the sector is considered as a property (see Table 2).


**Table 2.** Savings and credit actions.

Step 2. In this step, the educational level is established as a determining condition for saving or taking credit. Three groups were established for this analysis: Group 1: none and primary; Group 2: high school and technical; Group 3: undergraduate and postgraduate. These classifications are based on the Colombian educational system (see Table 3).



Step 3. Using the database, construct the matrices containing the satisfactory conditions for savings or credit, considering the classifications described in Steps 1 and 2. Here, each value comprised the criterion, knowledge, and the subjectivity of the decision-maker (see Tables 4 and 5).

**Table 4.** Saving values ratios.


**Table 5.** Credit values ratios.


Step 4. Weight vectors are determined by using the sources of information most often used by people when deciding to save or take out credit. These vectors are represented by *w*. Likewise, the induced values are established, using the actions most often used to make savings or take credit as a reference. These values are represented by *μ*. (see Tables 6 and 7).

**Table 6.** Weighting vectors and induced values for savings.


WS: weighted savings; IFI: information from financial institutions; AFM: advice from family members; AFR: advice from friends; OWE: own experience; CON: consulting; INT: internet; MTR: marketing, TV and radio.


**Table 7.** Weighting vectors and induced values for credit.

WC: weighted credit; IFI: information from financial institutions; AFM: advice from family members; MTRI:marketing, TV, radio and internet; AFR: advice from friends; OWE: own experience; CON: consulting.
