However, it also exempted family law, succession law and customary law from this prohibition,2 all of which are critical to ensuring women’s access to land. According to the IFC, the availabi lity of credit significantly increases where security interests are protected and there is a predictable priority for creditors in cases of loan default. In countries with creditor protections, private sector credit is 60 percent of GDP. In those without, it is only 30 to 32 per cent of GDP (IFC, 2014).