Rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report on microfinance sector has said that the government’s decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes may impact microfinance institutions (MFIs) and their borrowers in short term, with the latter likely to face high overdoes. Ind-Ra said that MFIs' borrowers are expected to reprioritise their expenses on account of face cash flow mismatches. As a result, MFIs may experience high overdues.
The report said demonetisation suggests higher core capital requirements for MFIs to withstand systemic stress. Most MFIs have liquidity in the form of steady-state unencumbered cash and unavailed bank lines to meet debt obligations for 30-60 days in the event of business disruption. Furthermore, many MFIs have raised equity in the last six months, gaining additional liquidity buffers. The report added that if money flow does not fully normalise by 4Q FY17 (January-March quarter of 2016-17), Tier 1 capital of few MFIs could come close to regulatory minimum levels.
The rating agency further expects banking habits to improve in the long term, as currency flow resumes, and this would be a positive development for the institutions as well as their borrowers when their credit history improves. MFIs have temporarily stopped providing credit to their customers after the demonetisation and loan repayments have also taken a major hit.
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