Microfinance sector’s gross loan portfolio grows 6.4% to Rs. 2.27 lakh crore as of Dec, 2020: Report

According to report, the gross loan portfolio of the microfinance sector grew by 6.4% to Rs. 2.27 lakh crore as of December, 2020 as against Rs. 2.13 lakh crore a year ago.

According to a quarterly report by credit information bureau CRIF High Mark, the average ticket size of microfinance loans stood at Rs. 34,900 in the December quarter of the current fiscal. Disbursements continued to grow in Q3 FY2020-21, with the resumption of near normalcy in business operations across the country, the report read.

“With a nearly 80% increase over the previous quarter (Q2 FY2020-21), disbursements by value stood at Rs. 56,090 crore (in Q3 FY 2020-21), which was 11.5% lower than Q3 FY 2019-20”, it said. In terms of volume, disbursements in the third quarter almost doubled, compared to the previous quarter standing at 175 lakh and only 4% lower than the same quarter of the previous year, the report added.

“The microfinance sector in India has traversed a turbulent journey in this financial year. After witnessing degrowth in the gross loan portfolio in the consecutive first two quarters, the sector experienced green shoots of recovery in the third quarter, with a growth in Gross Loan Portfolio (GLP), albeit at only 1.18% over the previous quarter”, it said.