The gross loan portfolio of the microfinance sector grew by 6.4 per cent 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 the 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 the third quarter 2020-21, with the resumption of near normalcy in business operations across the country, it said.
"With a nearly 80 per cent increase over the previous quarter (second quarter 2020-21), disbursements by value stood at Rs 56,090 crore (in third quarter 2020-21), which was 11.5 per cent lower than third quarter 2019-20," the report said.
In terms of volume, disbursements in the third quarter almost doubled, compared to the previous quarter standing at 175 lakh and only four per cent lower than the same quarter of the previous year, it added.
The share of regional distribution of disbursements remained the same as the previous quarter (second quarter 2020-21), with the eastern region dominating with 35.5 per cent, followed by the southern region (23.4 per cent).
Both rural and urban geographies witnessed 77 per cent growth in disbursements over the previous quarter, it noted.
Early delinquencies by value (portfolio at risk (PAR) 1-30 Days Past Due (DPD) ) reduced by 7.4 per cent in the December quarter this fiscal, the report said.
NBFC MFIs, banks, and SFBs (Small Finance Banks) witnessed greater early repayment stress in rural markets compared to urban. High repayment stress in the MFI portfolio from the previous quarter continued in the third quarter with PAR 31-180 DPD at 12.7 per cent, increasing by more than 10 per cent, it said.
Assam and West Bengal witnessed very high stress with PAR 31-180 DPD reaching 23.1 per cent and 22.8 per cent, respectively, in the third quarter.
PAR 180+ stood higher for Assam (7.9 per cent) and Maharashtra (7.6 per cent) compared to other states as of December 2020, it noted.
Banks remained the largest lender of microfinance at 41.8 per cent, followed by NBFC MFIs at 31.8 per cent of the gross loan portfolio and SFBs at 16.9 per cent as of December 2020, the report said.
