NBFC-MFIs witness 40 pc growth in equity investments

Equity investments in non-banking finance company-microfinance institutions (NBFC-MFIs) grew 40 per cent to Rs 9,631 crore in 2017-18, said a report.

The gross loan portfolio (GLP) of NBFC-MFIs grew by 50 per cent to cross Rs 48,000 crore as on March 2018, the Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) report said.

MFIN chief executive Harsh Shrivastava said investors' confidence in the sector has increased which is clearly reflected in the increase in equity investments during the last fiscal.

This, he said, is an encouraging sign for many medium and small microfinance institutions which are planning to expand their reach and operations.

As per the report, NBFC-MFIs disbursed 268 lakh loans of total worth Rs 59,629 crore in 2017-18, up 49 per cent over the previous fiscal.

The growth in number of clients witnessed an increase of 25 per cent to touch 2.53 crore as of March 31, 2018. Average loan amount per account stood at Rs 22,273.

MFIN is an industry association and self-regulatory organisation for the microfinance industry in India.

Its current membership is consists of 48 leading NBFCs.