MFIs' gross loan portfolio rises to Rs 2.9 trillion at March-end: Report

The Gross Loan Portfolio (GLP) of microfinance industry grew by 10.2 per cent to nearly Rs 2.9 lakh crore at the end of March, says a report.

The same stood at Rs 2.6 lakh crore in the year-ago period.

On a sequential basis, the GLP rose by 8.6 per cent during the period ended March 2022.

Banks continue to dominate the microfinance market with portfolio share of 37.7 per cent. This is followed by NBFC-MFIs with a share of 33.3 per cent and Small Finance Banks (SFBs) at 17.1 per cent, as of March 2022, according to a quarterly report released by CRIF High Mark, a credit information bureau, on Wednesday.

During the fourth quarter of FY22, Rs 191.2 lakh loans were disbursed, a growth of 15.5 per cent compared to the third quarter of FY22. However, it was a decline of 17.2 per cent compared to the fourth quarter of FY21.

The live customer base of the industry grew by 1.7 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) basis and 3.4 per cent on quarter-on-quarter basis.

On a y-o-y basis, rural markets rose 13.5 per cent and urban market registered a growth of 5.7 per cent as of March 2022, it said.

Top 10 states constituted 83.4 per cent of the national gross loan portfolio during the period. Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan recorded highest quarter-on-quarter growth of 16.6 per cent, 16.4 per cent and 11.3 per cent, respectively as of March end.

Portfolio At Risk (PAR) for 30 plus Days Past Due (DPD) improved from 9.2 per cent as of December 2021 to 6 per cent as of March 2022. PAR for 90+ DPD improved from 3.7 per cent to 2.7 per cent during the same period, the report said.

PAR is the proportion of portfolio outstanding which is delinquent by over 0 day, it said.