New Delhi, Jun 17 (IANS): The microfinance sector in India witnessed recovery in the books in the fourth quarter of FY21, with a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth of 10 per cent, according to the CRIF MicroLend report.

During the first two quarter of the last financial year, the sector had witnessed de-growth followed by a 1.5 per cent growth in the third quarter.

Live customer base in the microfinance segment grew by 4.2 per cent on a QoQ basis, and 13 per cent on a year-on-year basis and both urban and rural markets witnessed significant quarterly growth of 8.5 per cent and 10.4 per cent, respectively.

The CRIF report noted that the average balance per account witnessed QoQ growth of 5.5 per cent and YoY growth of 6.8 per cent. Further the average balance per unique microfinance borrower witnessed QoQ growth of 5.1 per cent and a comparatively higher YoY growth of 13.5 per cent.

CRIF High Mark, Head of Products, Vipul Jain, said: "Microfinance industry demonstrated strong resilience and recovered in Q2 after muted business in Q1 FY 20-21. Loan disbursements in Q3 and Q4 FY 20-21 were similar to previous year's respective quarters."

"Delinquency was higher in Q3 and Q4 of FY 20-21 compared to pre-Covid levels... we hope to see these numbers move back to their historic levels in the coming quarters," he added.