L&T Finance is expecting close to 30 per cent growth in its micro loan portfolio this fiscal.
The growth will be backed by its foray into new geographies and expansion of its base in existing markets, said Sunil Prabhune, Chief Executive, Rural Finance and Chief Human Resources Officer.
Loan book
L&T Finance is a subsidiary of L&T Finance Holdings. As on March 31, 2018, the micro loan book of the company stands at ₹7,549 crore, with a customer base of about 38.2 lakh women across 57,500 villages.
“Our growth was fuelled by our willingness to venture out and serve hitherto unbanked customers rather than lending within the same geography,” Prabhune said at a press conference here on Wednesday. The company has been rapidly expanding its micro loans network in new geographies such as Assam, Tripura and Bihar in FY18.
This year, it forayed into Jharkhand. It is also looking at rural markets of Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh for growth.
The micro loan industry growth rate, which had witnessed a slump in the period following demonetisation, is back to 30-40 per cent this fiscal, he said.
L&T Finance’s total rural portfolio was ₹16,449 crore in 2017-18, comprising micro loans, two-wheelers and farm equipment.
It disbursed around ₹7,214 crore in FY18. According to Prabhune, more than 30 per cent of the total disbursements of ₹7,214 crore was achieved by launching new meeting centres.