MUMBAI: The microfinance industry, once heralded as a tool for financial inclusion and finding wealth at the bottom of the pyramid, is shrinking. Banks and finance companies are cutting back on loans below Rs 50,000, wary of defaults in the segment. Meanwhile, collections are showing a mixed picture with lenders shifting to larger loans over Rs 1 lakh and customers with established repayment histories.The gross loan portfolio (GLP) fell to Rs 3.59 lakh crore at the end of June 2025, down from Rs 4.33 lakh crore a year earlier, and Rs 3.81 lakh crore in March. That marks a 17% decline year-on-year and 5.8% quarter-on-quarter. The number of active loans slipped to 132m, from 159m a year ago and 140m in March.The shift towards larger loans is striking. Borrowings between Rs 80,000 and Rs 1 lakh held steady in value terms, while loans above Rs 1 lakh doubled their portfolio share from 4.6% to 8.3%. Most of these went to long-standing customers: four in five had repayment histories of more than two years. Regulatory limits on the number of lender relationships have also encouraged bigger loans, reducing fragmentation across multiple lenders. At the other end of the spectrum, loans below Rs 50,000 shrank markedly, with their combined share falling from 56.2% to 47.1%Disbursements have slowed sharply too. Lenders advanced Rs 57,127 crore in the first quarter of FY26, down 28.2% from the same period last year and 20% from the previous quarter. According to CRIF High Mark’s quarterly Microlend report, the moderation reflects a deliberate shift towards risk management and liquidity preservation. The industry is prioritising portfolio stability over growth, reinforced by self-regulatory curbs intended to prevent over-borrowing. All states except West Bengal saw double-digit declines in GLP. Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka recorded the steepest drops, at 24.7%, 23.5% and 22.9% respectively. Non-bank microfinance institutions (NBFC-MFIs) remain the largest players, though their portfolios fell by 6.1% quarter-on-quarter and 18.7% year-on-year.
