Interim Report-Kashyap Patel
Interim Report-Kashyap Patel
Interim Report-Kashyap Patel
Submitted by:
Patel Kashyap.G.
(ENROLL. NO. 09BS0001568)
A REPORT
ON
Submitted by:
Patel Kashyap.G.
ENROLLMENT.NO. 09BS0001568
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. ABSTRACT…………………….………...………………………………………………..…4
2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY………………………………...........................................5
1) INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………...7
1) OVERVIEW…………………………………………………………………………………..10
2) TARGET OF MICROFINANCE…………………………………………………………….12
) PRODUCT OFFERING.………………………………………………………………....…....16
8. REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………..22
ABSTRACT
This interim report contains details of work done till now. The MRP commenced as per schedule
month of August, 2010. Almost five months have been completed and this report contains details
of learning that I have got through secondary research till now. I have a nice experience till now
in terms of knowledge sharing and learning.
Description:
The Project focuses on evolution of micro finance industry and basic motive behind this
industry.
It includes various functions performed by micro finance companies and analysis of the
same.
It measures relative performance of major players in the micro finance industry.
Guidelines and regulations regarding operation of micro finance company by RBI and role
credit rating agencies.
Various roles played by intermediaries in micro finance. (Like commercial banks)
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Objectives of the project:
To find out products and services offered by micro finance companies and understand their
workings.
To measure relative performances of various micro finance companies.
To map performance of the industry with the expectations of the government.
To judge whether guidelines and regulations are beings strictly followed or not.
To find future growth prospects for micro finance industry.
Methodology:
This study is based on secondary sources like internet, newspapers, books and magazines.
Other media websites and research reports prepared by experts and analysts are also used in
order to gain information about Micro finance Industry.
Data regarding financial performance, relative performance, growth.etc is taken from annual
reports, web and other insights from faculty.
Also, the views of Professor Muhammad Yunus have been taken by attending video talk at
IIM-Ahamedabad.
In developing economies and particularly in the rural areas, many activities that would be
classified in the developed world as financial are not monetized that is, money is not used to
carry them out. Almost by definition, poor people have very little money. But circumstances
often arise in their lives in which they need money or the things money can buy.
In Stuart Rutherford’s recent book The Poor and Their Money, he cites several types of needs:
Poor people find creative and often collaborative ways to meet these needs, primarily through
creating and exchanging different forms of non-cash value. Common substitutes for cash vary
from country to country but typically include livestock, grains, jewellery and precious metals.
"Microfinance is not a charity. It is a way to extend the same rights and
services to low-income households that are available to everyone else. It is
recognition that poor people are the solution, not the problem."
INTRODUCTION:
More broadly, it is a movement whose object is "a world in which as many poor and near-poor
households as possible have permanent access to an appropriate range of high quality financial
services, including not just credit but also savings, insurance and fund transfers.” Those who
promote microfinance generally believe that such access will help poor people out of poverty.
Microfinance loans serve the low-income population in multiple ways by: (1) providing working
capital to build businesses; (2) infusing credit to smooth cash flows and mitigate irregularity in
accessing food, clothing, shelter, or education; and (3) cushioning the economic impact of shocks
such as illness, theft, or natural disasters. Moreover, by providing an alternative to the loans
offered by the local moneylender priced at 60% to 100% annual interest, microfinance prevents
the borrower from remaining trapped in a debt trap which exacerbates poverty.
The concept of microfinance is not new. Savings and credit groups that have operated for
centuries include the "susus" of Ghana, "chit funds" in India, "tandas" in Mexico, "arisan" in
Indonesia, "cheetu" in Sri Lanka, "tontines" in West Africa, and "pasanaku" in Bolivia, as well as
numerous savings clubs and burial societies found all over the world.
Formal credit and savings institutions for the poor have also been around for decades, providing
customers who were traditionally neglected by commercial banks a way to obtain financial
services through cooperatives and development finance institutions. One of the earlier and
longer-lived micro credit organizations providing small loans to rural poor with no collateral was
the Irish Loan Fund system, initiated in the early 1700s by the author and nationalist Jonathan
Swift. Swift's idea began slowly but by the 1840s had become a widespread institution of about
300 funds all over Ireland. Their principal purpose was making small loans with interest for short
periods. At their peak they were making loans to 20% of all Irish households annually.
In the 1800s, various types of larger and more formal savings and credit institutions began to
emerge in Europe, organized primarily among the rural and urban poor. These institutions were
known as People's Banks, Credit Unions, and Savings and Credit Co-operatives.
In the early 1900s, various adaptations of these models began to appear in parts of rural Latin
America. While the goal of such rural finance interventions was usually defined in terms of
modernizing the agricultural sector, they usually had two specific objectives: increased
commercialization of the rural sector, by mobilizing "idle" savings and increasing
investment through credit, and reducing oppressive feudal relations that were enforced
through indebtedness.
Meanwhile, starting in the 1970s, experimental programs in Bangladesh, Brazil, and a few other
countries extended tiny loans to groups of poor women to invest in micro-businesses. This type
of microenterprise credit was based on solidarity group lending in which every member of a
group guaranteed the repayment of all members. These "microenterprise lending" programs had
an almost exclusive focus on credit for income generating activities (in some cases accompanied
by forced savings schemes) targeting very poor (often women) borrowers.
ACCION International: An early pioneer was founded by a law student, Joseph Blatchford, to
address poverty in Latin America's cities. Begun as a student-run volunteer effort in the
shantytowns of Caracas with $90,000 raised from private companies, ACCION today is one of
the premier microfinance organizations in the world, with a network of lending partners that
spans Latin America, the United States and Africa.
SEWA Bank: In 1972 the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) was registered as a
trade union in Gujarat (India), with the main objective of "strengthening its members' bargaining
power to improve income, employment and access to social security." In 1973, to address their
lack of access to financial services, the members of SEWA decided to found "a bank of their
own". Four thousand women contributed share capital to establish the Mahila SEWA Co-
operative Bank. Since then it has been providing banking services to poor, illiterate, self-
employed women and has become a viable financial venture with today around 30,000 active
clients.
Micro-credit programs throughout the world improved upon the original methodologies and
defied conventional wisdom about financing the poor. First, they showed that poor people,
especially women, had excellent repayment rates among the better programs, rates that were
better than the formal financial sectors of most developing countries. Second, the poor were
willing and able to pay interest rates that allowed microfinance institutions (MFIs) to cover their
costs. 1990s These two features - high repayment and cost-recovery interest rates - permitted
some MFIs to achieve long-term sustainability and reach large numbers of clients.
Another flagship of the microfinance movement is the village banking unit system of the Bank
Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), the largest microfinance institution in developing countries. This
state-owned bank serves about 22 million micro savers with autonomously managed micro-
banks.
The 1990s saw growing enthusiasm for promoting microfinance as a strategy for poverty
alleviation. The microfinance sector blossomed in many countries, leading to multiple financial
services firms serving the needs of micro entrepreneurs and poor households.
It was not until the mid-1990s that the term "Microcredit" began to be replaced by a new term
that included not only credit, but also savings and other financial services. "Microfinance"
emerged as the term of choice to refer to a range of financial services to the poor, that included
not only credit, but also savings and other services such as insurance and money transfers.
Today, the microfinance industry and the greater development community share the view that
permanent poverty reduction requires addressing the multiple dimensions of poverty. For the
international community, this means reaching specific Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
in education, women's empowerment, and health, among others. For microfinance, this means
viewing microfinance as an essential element in any country's financial system.
OVERVIEW:
Microfinance loans in India range in size from $100 to $500 per loan with interest rates typically
between 25% and 35% annually. The microfinance model is designed specifically to help the
low income population overcome typical challenges such as illiteracy, lack of financial
knowledge and deficiency of collateralizable assets. At the same time, the model takes advantage
of existing community support systems and networks to encourage financial discipline and
ensure high repayment rates.
The microfinance sector in India has developed a successful and sustainable business model
which has been able to overcome challenges traditionally faced by the financial services
sector in servicing the low income population by catering to its specific needs, capacities and
leveraging preexisting community support networks. As of March 2009, microfinance
institutions (“MFIs”) in India reached over 22 million borrowers and had a portfolio
outstanding in excess of $2.3 billion.
The microfinance business model in India typically generates a Return on Equity (“ROE”) of
between 20% and 30%, driven by financing from commercial banks, strong operating
efficiency and high portfolio quality.
Despite achieving rapid growth with a CAGR of 86% in loan portfolio outstanding and 96%
in borrowers over the last five years, the microfinance sector still faces a large unmet demand
which means that it still has great potential for continued growth.
The microfinance sector is maturing and beginning to diversify its product and service base
to address other unmet financial and non-financial needs of the low income population either
directly or by acting as a conduit for third-party providers – savings, insurance, remittance
and low cost education and healthcare services being some of the key examples.
Given this growth and maturity dynamic, the Indian microfinance sector is increasingly
becoming a viable investment sector with commercial investors joining social investors who
have been nurturing the industry thus far.
Equity valuations in the Indian microfinance sector are higher than the financial sector due to
the high growth expectations and substantial availability of debt to fuel its rapid expansion.
This availability of debt to support expansion is expected to grow as more domestic banks
take exposure to the industry and alternative debt providers enter the market.
Over the short and medium term, MFI shares are expected to trade at significant premia to
book value as they realign their business models to capitalize on unsatisfied demand, and
cool down over the longer term as the industry matures and begins to consolidate.
Currently, several exit opportunities exist including secondary and trade sales which are
increasing as more mainstream investors enter the market. Another likely exit scenario is
M&A, as larger MFIs seek to acquire players with product or geographical niches and banks
also seek to enter the sector by forming alliances with existing MFIs. Larger MFIs may also
consider IPOs although that may be a less likely exit option for most MFIs in the short to
medium term.
TARGET OF MICROFINANCE
The fundamental reason behind the Indian microfinance industry’s impressive growth is that it is
fulfilling a critical need of its target audience, the low-income population, which has thus far
remained unaddressed by the traditional financial services sector. Currently, a total population of
1.1 billion is being served by 50,000 commercial banks, 12,000 co-operative bank offices,
15,000 regional rural banks and 100,000 primary agriculture societies. This density of financial
services, however, belies the availability of financial services to low-income households, which
make up a significant chunk of the Indian population. Before exploring why financial services
have failed to reach this segment of the population, it is necessary to first define their target.
The microfinance business model is designed to address the challenges faced by the traditional
financial services sector in fulfilling the credit requirement of the low income segment at an
affordable and sustainable cost. Most MFIs follow the Joint Liability Group (JLG) model. A
JLG consists of five to ten women who act as co-guarantors for the other members of their
group. This strategy provides an impetus for prudent self-selection of reliable and fiscally
responsible co-members. Moreover, the JLG has an inbuilt mechanism that encourages
repayment in a timely fashion as issuance of future loans is contingent upon the prior repayment
record of the group.
Metric Amount (in India)
Interest rate charged Typically 25-35% p.a.
Interest on debt 12-16%; lower for larger MFIs
Operating expense
ratio 6-15% depending on level of efficiency
ROA Typically 3-5%
Debt/Equity Typically 5-8x
ROE 20-30%
Micro-loan sizes vary from an initial loan size between $100 and $150 to subsequent loans of
$300 to $500 with an annual interest rate between 25% and 35%. The term loans are structured
with weekly or monthly repayment schedules and a 6-month to 2 year term. Microfinance
institutions typically charge a higher rate of interest to their clients than traditional commercial
banks as the administrative costs of servicing smaller loans is far higher in percentage terms than
the cost of servicing larger loans. Additionally, MFIs provide doorstep services to their
customers, a strategy that has a high cost associated with it, especially in rural areas where
population densities tend to be low. Because of this model, MFIs generally face an operating
expense ratio (“OER”) between 6% and 15%, depending on the scale and efficiency level of the
particular MFI as well its area of operations. Additionally, today, MFIs face borrowing costs in
the range of 12% to 16% per annum, depending on the size and track-record of the individual
MFI. This model allows well-run MFIs to achieve a ROA of about 3% to 5% and a ROE of as
much as 20% to 30%. These high ROA and ROE numbers are contingent upon low cost
financing from commercial banks and the ability to maintain high portfolio growth along with
high portfolio quality. The portfolio quality for MFIs is typically superior to commercial banks
with total Nonperforming Assets 180 days past due of 0.2% to 3% as opposed to 3% to 10% for
commercial banks. MFIs typically enjoy extremely low delinquency rates despite the
nonexistence of security. This portfolio quality is driven by the discipline embedded in the JLG
model through the self-selection of the group members as well as the mutual support informally
embedded in the groups in relation to members’ loans. The 3% to 5% ROA range is a product of
both the maturity level of MFIs and the basic business model to which they subscribe. No MFI
typically begins by achieving a 3% ROA, but it can be achieved and becomes sustainable as the
MFI refines its business model and scales enough to become profitable. Within this range,
however, an MFI’s ROA will be determined largely by its particular business model. For
example, within Lok Capital’s portfolio, Spandana has consistently had an ROA above 5% since
Lok’s investment in August 2007. By and large, Spandana faces the same cost of debt as the rest
of the industry, however, its single-product business model hinges on maintaining a consistently
low OER, which has also been below 6% since the time of Lok’s investment. This low OER
allows Spandana to charge one of the lowest interest rates on its loan products in the industry and
thus successfully serve its social mission. By contrast, Bhartiya Samruddhi (“BASIX”) is a
mature MFI with an ROA between 2% and 4% and a different approach to the microfinance
business model. As a mature MFI, BASIX has begun exploring alternative products and
services, financial and non-financial to form deeper linkages with its existing clients and
maintain its competitiveness. While BASIX may make slight improvements in its OER in the
future, that will not be its key focus. Nevertheless, as it continues to strengthen its client base,
develop its product base and expand at a sustainable rate, BASIX will continue to comfortably
produce an attractive ROA. Ujjivan presents a blend between the models of Spandana and
BASIX. Ujjivan, which is a less mature MFI partner, has only recently achieved an ROA above
3%. Ujjivan’s business model currently operates on an assumption of an OER in the mid-teens
as it is still in the process of ramping up its operations at an extremely high rate. Ujjivan seeks to
become a larger commercial player in the sector, but it is simultaneously dedicated to expanding
into untested geographical territories and targeting clients who continue to be excluded from the
microfinance sector. The groundwork required in this approach makes for inherently high
operating costs. As Ujjivan matures and its business model gains more cogency, its OER will
certainly continue to decline, ensuring a healthy and sustainable ROA going forward. These
three examples are reflective of trends in the sector overall. Nascent MFIs make gains in ROA as
they scale their businesses and then remain within the 3% to 5% range as they streamline their
business models to reflect their longer-term goals.
PRODUCT OFFERING:
Microfinance institutions have largely limited their product and service offering even within the
confines of financial inclusion. In fact, their product innovation has been limited to credit which
is intended to serve a variety of needs as shown by the box below. The limited product
innovation is understandable given the sector’s primary focus has been on refining its business
model and gaining scale to become financially sustainable. Despite following a single-product
model, the sector has experienced remarkable growth. This growth can only be expected to
continue as product innovation and diversified service offerings attract and retain greater number
of customers with a variety of needs.
Product Purpose
Working capital/business start-
Existing Products Micro-enterprise /small business loan up
Agricultural Loan Crop/Farm-related
Livestock Loan Dairy/Poultry
General Consumption
New/Niche Products Education Loan Academic/vocational
Housing Loan Home improvement/new home
The very same clients that the sector currently serves have a plethora of alternate needs for basic
products and services, financial and non-financial which can affect sustainable, long-term
achievements in their quality of life. Fortunately, recognizing this pent-up demand, mature MFIs
are beginning to take concrete steps toward expanding their product basket, at least within the
context of financial services. Along with credit, MFIs are heavily exploring the possibility of
providing savings/deposit services, micro-insurance and remittance services.
Within product offerings, MFIs are considering expanding their activities beyond the realm of
financial services since this can provide synergies linked to future expansion. Microfinance
clients have myriads of unmet needs such as healthcare and education as well as livelihood
requirements which can enhance their income, employment potential or quality of life. Given
MFIs’ existing relationships with this population segment, they would be an ideal channel to
provide these services. While MFIs may not want to delve into product lines that are
fundamentally different from their core business, they could easily act as conduits to allow other
agents to deliver these services to their customers. The microfinance industry as a whole is now
experimenting with a wide variety of potential models that could be used to deliver non-financial
services. For example, BASIX offers a host of alternative services to its clients. Beyond the
basket of credit and other financial products and services, BASIX also provides low income
customers with livelihood services, including agricultural and business development consulting
services, to help microfinance clients use their loans more effectively. BASIX offers these
alternative services to its clients through different entities housed under one umbrella. These
groups have tremendous synergy and contribute to each other’s growth and prosperity. The credit
business enables customer acquisition, while the insurance business mitigates risk, and
agricultural and business development service enables customer retention. The consulting and IT
business enhances BASIX’s revenues, while the social businesses enable research and
development which contribute to BASIX’s strategy development. In addition to livelihood
services, several MFIs are examining the feasibility of providing critical basic services to deliver
low cost healthcare, education and vocational training.
For example, Spandana is currently developing a comprehensive low cost healthcare delivery
model focused on the healthcare needs of women and children. BASIX has launched a
vocational training academy to impart education in rural development and management to
potential job seekers from low income communities. These participants would be deployed in the
rural/semi urban areas with BASIX or other organizations offering financial services to the poor.
In addition to being important avenues for productive utilization of credit by MFI clients, these
types of services have a strong potential to reinforce long-term client relationships. Most
importantly, the evolving delivery model for low cost education and healthcare has similar
operational elements as the highly successful microfinance model including efficient
distribution, high through put and para-skilling of low cost resources to address the last mile
inclusion challenge.
Hyderabad-based SKS Microfinance, the world’s and India’s largest microfinancier listed on
India’s National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). This was the
first ever microfinance institution (MFI) listing for the Indian market. SKS focuses on providing
microfinance products through a group lending model to India’s impoverished women for access
to agriculture, livestock purchases, and other micro business ventures. It was founded in 1997 by
Vikram akula as a nonprofit venture with funding of $50,000. By 2001, it had over 2,000
borrowers in rural India. Bandhan, as well as two other Indian MFIs—Microcredit Foundation
of India and Saadhana Microfin Society have been placed above Bangladesh-based Grameen
Bank (which along with its founder Mohammed Yunus, was awarded the Nobel Prize). Besides
Bandhan, the Microcredit Foundation of India and Saadhana Microfin Society, other Indian
entries include Grameen Koota, Sharada's Women's Association for Weaker Section are also
ranked in world’s top 50 MFIs. Here relative performance of top 10 MFIs of India is given
reported as on 30th september 2008.
(2) Spandana
(1) SKS Sphoorty Financial (3) Share Microfin
Name Microfinance Ltd Ltd Limited
Secunderabad, Andhra Hyderabad, Andhra Hyderabad, Andhra
Headquarter Pradesh Pradesh Pradesh
Pvt. Ltd. Company Public Ltd. Company Public Ltd. Company
Legal Status (NBFC) (NBFC) (NBFC)
Lending Model JLG JLG, Individual JLG, Individual
Number of Branches 1,413 696 666
Loan Outstanding (Rs. Mn) 18,227 11,987 8,568
Borrowers 2,590,950 1,668,807 1,231,556
Net Worth (Rs. Mn) 2,395 1,225 1,448
Portfolio Yield (%) 23.4 27.43 27.49
OSS (%)(Apr 1-Sep 30,
2008) 126.49 132.02 152.45
Current Portfolio (%) 99.14 98.88 99.32
Debt to Net Worth (Times) 7.37 7.04 5.03
To find out products and services offered by micro finance companies and understand
their workings.
To measure relative performances of various micro finance companies.
Future Task:
REFERENCES
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfinance
http://www.globalenvision.org/library/4/1051/
http://www.sksindia.com/
http://www.spandanaindia.com
http://www.bandhanmf.com/bn_default.aspx
http://www.crisil.com/pdf/ratings/CRISIL-ratings_india-top-50-mfis.pdf
http://in.finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=MFI
http://www.gdrc.org/icm/conceptpaper-india.html
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/architects-of-peace/Yunus/resources/portrait_hr2.jpg