Microfinance sector grows 24% to Rs 2.93 lakh crore

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Microfinance sector grows 24% to Rs 2.93 lakh crore

The Microfinance sector increased by 24% to Rs 2.93 lakh crore, with banks holding 38.4% market share, according to the Microfinance Institutions Network MFIN. Microloan disbursals increased sharply to Rs 45,830 crore in June compared to Rs 25,503 crore seen in the same period a year ago, a growth of nearly 80%. The number of loans disbursed increased to 11.6 million against 7.1 million in the same period. The sector serves 60 million unique borrowers through 120 million loan accounts. The largest share of the microloan portfolio is held by Bandhan Bank and 11 other banks with a total loan outstanding of Rs 1.13 lakh crore. The NBFC-MFIs are the second largest provider of microcredit with a loan amount of 1.03 lakh crore, accounting for 35% of the total industry portfolio. Small finance banks have a total loan amount of Rs 49,646 crore with a total share of 16.9% while NBFCs account for another 8.8% and other MFIs account for 0.9% of the universe. Most institutions took time in making policy changes and adapting to the new harmonised guidelines, but the industry was still able to record a growth of 23.5% in the portfolio on a year-on-year basis and 2.7% over the previous quarter, which should see further strengthening in the coming quarters, MFIN chief executive Alok Misra said in a statement.