The stress in the microfinance sector is far from over with the sector’s bad loans ratio rising for the second consecutive quarter to 12.1% at the end of September compared with 10.5% six months prior to that.
This translates into Rs 36,418 crore of gross non-performing assets – an all-time high. This is despite significant write-offs of very sticky loans by lenders as a balance-sheet cleaning exercise.
The portfolio at risk (PAR) for over 30 days has also risen to 14.5% of the Rs 3 lakh crore total portfolio. PAR 30+ was at 13.1% at the end of March 2022, data released by Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) showed.