MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CEO of Indian Microfinance Institution BASIX Denies Charging Interest Rates of More than 24%

Sajeev Viswanathan, CEO of Indian group BASIX, which provides microfinance services through its microfinance institution (MFI) Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (BSFL), was recently interviewed by CNBC India, at which time he denied that BSFL charges interest rates as high as 60 percent on microloans.

Responding to accusations made by officials of the state of Andhra Pradesh, Mr Viswanathan told CNBC India that BASIX does not have a loan product that charges more than 24 percent, although he concedes that after factoring in other fees, the final interest rate might be in the ballpark of 27 to 28 percent.

According to the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), BSFL reported a gross loan portfolio of USD 223.2 million, total assets of USD 302.6 million, return on assets of 3.12 percent, return on equity of 23.29 percent and 1.1 million active borrowers as of March 31, 2010.

About Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Ltd (BSFL):

Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Ltd. (BSFL) is a regulated non-banking finance company (NBFC) based in Hyderabad, India, that was founded in 1997. It is part of the BASIX Group, which provides financial services, agricultural/business development services and institutional development services to rural poor households. According to the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), BSFL reported a gross loan portfolio of USD 223.2 million, total assets of USD 302.6 million and 1.1 million active borrowers as of March 31, 2010.

By Trevor Kwong, Research Assistant

Sources and Additional Resoures:

[1] Source Article: MoneyControl: Do not have any product with 60% interest rate: Basix:

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/economy/do-not-have-any-product60-interest-rate-basix_495663.html

[2] MicroCapital Universe: Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Ltd:

https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Bhartiya+Samruddhi+Finance+Ltd+(BSFL)

Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php

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