Outstanding portfolio for the industry, which typically offers small ticket Loan The number of micro-entrepreneurs and women borrowers rose to Rs 249 lakh crore by September, up 2.1 per cent over the June figure and 6 per cent over the year-ago period.
Unpaid loans, which became a concern during the second wave in the April-June period as economic activities were hit, also seems to be reducing if one has to go through the 30-day overdue period, CRIF Highmark reports, a credit information company said.
Loans overdue for more than 30 days declined to 10.4 per cent in September from 15 per cent in June, while loans outstanding for more than 90 days remained stable at 3.3 per cent.
However, when compared to the year-ago period, the proportion of overdue loans in both the buckets was higher, it said.
Inquiry volume saw a good health benefit during the quarter as compared to the first quarter of the fiscal, it said.
“While the impact continues, the second quarter marked a turnaround for the microfinance industry with an increase in disbursements.
However, lenders still need to be cautious about the quality of assets,” the report cautioned.
The report said that 4.1 per cent of borrowers have loans from four or more lenders, with the proportion of such borrowers being the highest in Tamil Nadu and the lowest in Assam.
When it comes to growth, disbursements grew faster in rural markets than in urban markets, it said, adding that the top-10 states accounted for 83 per cent of the gross loan portfolio as of September 2021.
The report said Tamil Nadu topped the states, while Assam and West Bengal saw a decline in the overall loan portfolio.
Banks account for over 40 per cent of the overall microlending mix despite a sharp rise in non-bank lenders, who now account for 29 per cent market share and are followed by small finance banks at 17 per cent.
From the risk perspective, Darbhanga, Nanded and Sitamarhi were the best performing districts, while Jalpaiguri, Koch Bihar and Kollam were the worst.