Microfinance king may call it quits

The microfinance king is on slippery ground. Vikram Akula is under pressure from some of the board members of SKS Microfinance to resign as executive chairman of the company he founded in 1998.

The SKS board is meeting tomorrow in Mumbai and the buzz is that Akula’s resignation will be considered. If Akula leaves the company, it will be the second high-profile departure after the exit of Suresh Gurumani, former chief executive of SKS, last year.

The SKS spokesperson was not available for comments. Akula did not respond to calls or text messages sent to him. There is also speculation the micro-lender will appoint P H Ravikumar, a board member of SKS and head of Invent Assets Securitisation and Reconstruction, as the non-executive chairman. Ravikumar told Business Standard, “I don’t know. I have not been informed about this. There is no such thing on the agenda of tomorrow’s board meet. I have no comments to make.”

SKS was the fastest-growing MFI till 2009. It was also the first Indian MFI to be listed on the stock exchanges and had a grand reception, as the initial public offer was subscribed 14 times. But, the rise of the company was as grand as its fall. The stock that touched Rs 1,491 in September last year is now a shadow of its former self at Rs 110. The scrip was down nearly five per cent from the previous close.

The timing of Akula’s possible departure will be ominous. Micro-lenders in India, including SKS, are currently battling a crisis of confidence with mounting losses, deteriorating asset quality, poor loan recovery and absence of bank funding.

Akula had many sympathizers, too. “It is hard to believe that Vikram will be held responsible for the financials of the company. What has happened in Indian microfinance space is beyond anybody’s control. Inflated egos appear to be the most probable cause,” a person who runs a microfinance company and knows Akula personally said, requesting anonymity.

Sources said Akula was likely to get a “good” severance package since his term as executive chairman had not ended. Akula, earlier the non-executive chairman of SKS, was appointed executive chairman of the company for five years from April 1, 2011. He received Rs 1.75 crore as commission from the company in the last financial year. If he does go, it will result in Akula giving up control on SKS, as he does not own any equity shares in the company other than 2.6 million stock options given to him in two tranches.

The talk of Akula leaving SKS also comes at a time when the company is trying to convince its investors to infuse more money in the firm.

Earlier this month, the micro-lender’s board had approved fund-raising up to Rs 900 crore through a qualified institutional placement.

SKS claimed some of its existing investors were willing to put more money in the company, which was needed to capitalise on the demand-supply gap in micro-lending in markets outside Andhra Pradesh. In July-September, SKS’ net loss widened to Rs 385 crore from Rs 219 crore in the previous quarter. The company’s earnings have been shrinking since October, 2010 when Andhra Pradesh government introduced a new legislation curbing micro-lending activities in the state.