56627 FOCUS NOTE Growth and Vulnerabilities in Microfinance rom 2004 to 2008 microfinance enjoyed countries are showing signs of stress, with regional- F unprecedented growth in emerging markets. or national-scale microfinance loan delinquency According to data from the Microfinance crises emerging within the past 24 months. Have Information Exchange (MIX), the sector expanded these expanding microfinance markets grown too at historic rates, with average annual asset growth fast? Are they simply the victims of the global of 39 percent, accumulating total assets of over financial crisis, or are there other reasons for the US$60 billion by December 2008. Microfinance difficulties? benefited from widespread international recognition as a development tool. It was promoted This Focus Note distills lessons from four by many national governments eager to bridge microfinance markets: Nicaragua, Morocco, the financial inclusion gap, and it was elevated Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and Pakistan (see onto the agendas of the United Nations and G8. Figure 1). These countries have all experienced Donors and socially oriented investors recognized a microfinance repayment crisis after a period the potential for social and financial returns and of high growth and are important microfinance directed increasing funding toward microfinance. markets in their respective regions. In all four The global performance of the microfinance sector cases, CGAP compiled case studies combining has been impressive with solid asset quality and data analysis with wide-ranging interviews with stable return on assets. microfinance institution (MFI) managers, investors, and industry analysts. These case studies do not An increase in commercial funding to the sector indicate that the global economic recession is a has enabled microfinance to grow well beyond primary cause of the repayment crises, though it what could have been possible with just donor was among the various contextual factors affecting and government support--the primary source of borrowers' repayment capacity. Instead, the case funding a decade ago. This impressive growth studies reveal that three vulnerabilities within means that millions more poor people are included the microfinance industry lie at the core of the in the formal financial system. However, a few problems: Figure 1: Four Countries with Recent Microfinance Repayment Crises No. 61 February 2010 Bosnia and Herzegovina Greg Chen, Stephen Rasmussen, and Xavier Reille Morocco Pakistan Nicaragua 2 1. Concentrated market competition and strong incentives for MFIs to grow since funding, multiple borrowing. national influence, and international recognition all 2. Overstretched MFI systems and controls. flowed to the largest players. Figure 2 illustrates 3. Erosion of MFI lending discipline. how fast our four focal countries expanded their microcredit loan portfolios, with compound annual This Focus Note begins by briefly telling the story growth rates (CAGR)1 between 33 percent and 67 of recent growth in the four countries leading into percent, in line with or above the MIX average of the credit delinquency crises. The second section 43 percent for the same period. describes the key contextual factors that affected the severity and spread of the crises. The third Growth Was Led by Credit Services section breaks down the three internal industry vulnerabilities that lie at the heart of the problems. MFI market expansion was driven by MFIs that This is followed by a discussion on how market relied on credit products and credit delivery infrastructure and tools can help to mitigate some methods common in microfinance. There are, of the dangers. The note concludes by placing however, substantial differences in the credit these experiences within the broader context approaches in the four countries. Lending directly of the global microfinance story and makes to individuals or microenterprises is the preferred recommendations to strengthen the industry. approach in BiH and Nicaragua, whereas lending through groups dominates in Morocco and 2004 to 2008: The Growth Story Pakistan. Expansion was driven by a combination of the addition of branches in new markets and The microfinance industry grew at unprecedented growth in existing markets through larger loans rates over the past five years. Growth was driven by and new products. Increases in loan size were increasingly competent and confident MFIs with a particularly pronounced in Nicaragua, BiH, and social mission to increase outreach to the poor and Morocco. But the most common characteristic in all the unbanked. At the same time, there were also four countries was that savings was neither a major Figure 2: Growth of MFIs Gross Loan Portfolio 900 800 Bosnia and Herzegovina (CAGR 43%) 700 600 Morocco (CAGR 59%) US$ millions 500 400 Nicaragua (CAGR 33%) 300 200 Pakistan (CAGR 67%) 100 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Year Source: MIX data, Pakistan data from the Pakistan Microfinance Network. 1 CAGR represents the year-over-year growth rate over a specified period. 3 Figure 3: MFI Sources of Funding Financing Structure Four-Country MFI Average 70 60 50 US$ millions 40 Savings 30 Borrowings 20 Equity 10 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Year Source: MIX panel data. service nor a large source of funds (see Figure debt capital from foreign lenders to support their 3). The ratio of savings deposits to outstanding growth. In addition, MFIs sourced capital on their loans in each country remained under 10 percent local markets through commercial banks and local throughout the period, in sharp contrast to the apex funds. This was especially pronounced in MIX global average of 46 percent.2 Morocco where 85 percent of microfinance assets were financed by loans from commercial banks at Fueled by Abundant Funding-- the end of 2008.5 In Pakistan loans from a national Especially Debt apex fund and domestic commercial banks largely replaced earlier donor support. The emphasis on During this period donors and social investors MFI borrowing contributed to a rise in financial began to channel larger amounts of funds to MFIs leverage--the ratio of MFIs' total assets to their across the globe, generating a significant supply equity base--rising from 3 to 5.5 between 2004 "push" behind the growth story. The abundance and 2008 in our four focal countries.6 of funding gave MFIs greater confidence as well as the capital to grow at a faster pace. The stock of Initially, Financial Performance cross-border investments in microfinance reached Remained Solid US$10 billion by 2008, a seven-fold increase over the prior five years.3 Foreign investors concentrated Early in the growth period, MFI financial their investments in a few select countries, performance was strong in these four countries including BiH and Nicaragua.4 Many MFIs relied on compared to global benchmarks. MFIs maintained 2 Calculated based on data for 914 MFIs in 2008. Median is 29%. 3 CGAP funding flows research. 4 Fifty-one percent of development finance institutions'--government-sponsored financial institutions promoting economic development-- outstanding portfolio for microfinance as of December 2008 was concentrated in 10 countries (Russia, Bulgaria, Peru, Morocco, Serbia, Romania, Ukraine, BiH, Ecuador, and Azerbaijan). 5 Morocco Central Bank, December 2008. 6 Nonbank financial institutions in the MIX data set followed a similar trend, with a combined financial leverage ratio increasing from 2.9 to 4.25 for the same period. 4 good portfolio quality, stable net interest margins, other countries not until late 2008 or early 2009. and stable or increasing profitability. Combined Figure 5 shows the sharp rise in portfolio-at-risk with higher financial leverage, this performance (PAR)8 by June 2009.9 In three of the countries improved return on equity in Morocco and BiH PAR exceeded 10 percent, the threshold used through 2007 as shown in Figure 4. This sound here to define a serious repayment crisis. Only financial performance gave MFIs and investors BiH reported PAR of less than 10 percent, but this reasons to be optimistic,7 though new risks were was on account of aggressive loan write-offs.10 This looming. sharp rise in PAR is a sobering reminder of how volatile microfinance asset quality can be. Later, Credit Quality Deteriorated and Growth Slowed Some of the unique elements of each country's microfinance loan repayment crisis add to our The growth increased outreach, which had long understanding of what happened. been sought in microfinance, but it was only after several years of growth that credit repayment · Nicaragua's delinquency crisis affected all 22 problems began. Signs of industry stress were major MFIs. A large pocket of delinquency reported among industry players in 2007, but developed in one northern region at the delinquency problems did not appear in MFI epicenter of the no pago (no payment) reports until early 2008 in Morocco, and in the movement. Here a group of borrowers with Figure 4: MFI Profitability Return on Equity 30 20 10 BiH Percent Morocco 0 Nicaragua Pakistan ­10 MIX average ­20 ­30 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Year Source: MIX panel data. 7 Credit risk ranked only eighth in Microfinance Banana Skins Report 2007 (an annual publication on industry risk by the Center for the Study of Financial Innovation) during the credit boom but had risen to the top risk by the time the second survey was done in April 2009. http://www. citibank.com/citi/microfinance/data/news090703a1.pdf 8 PAR is calculated using the following sources: BiH--AMFI MCO Network data; Morocco--MIX data for 2004­2008 and JAIDA sources for June 2009 estimate; Nicaragua--Asomif Network data; Pakistan--MIX data for 2004­2008, CGAP estimate for June 2009. 9 Throughout this paper we use the standard measure of PAR of loans with payments more than 30 days late (i.e., PAR 30 days). 10 An MFI's PAR can be reduced by aggressively writing off loans. The decision to write off loans is usually at the discretion of an MFI's board. The June 2009 write-off ratios in the four focal countries were BiH, 4.1%; Pakistan, 3.66%; Morocco, 2.90%; and Nicaragua, 1.84%. Write-offs in Nicaragua were calculated using composite data from the MFIs Banex and Pro-Credit; for Pakistan the figure is derived from a sample of five MFIs. 5 Figure 5: Rising Loan Delinquency in MFIs Portfolio-at-Risk over 30 Days 20 18 16 13% 14 12% 12 Percent Pakistan 10 Nicaragua 10% Morocco 8 7% BiH 6 4 2 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 June 2009 Year Source: See Footnote 8. strong political connections and support from Context Matters... the ruling party collectively decided to forgo their repayment obligations. Loan delinquency crises are complex events made · In Morocco all 12 MFIs began to experience more difficult to interpret by contextual forces. rising delinquency, but the problem spiked The four case studies show that three contextual sharply when the merger and acquisition of a forces affected the pace and scope of the crises: large distressed MFI became public.11 the macroeconomy, local events, and contagion · BiH's problems rose to the surface in late 2008 factors. These contextual forces, however, were closely following the recession in Europe. not the primary causes. Nearly all the 12 largest MFIs experienced a sharp rise in PAR, reaching 7 percent in Macroeconomy: Global Economic June 2009. This figure would have been even Recession higher except that MFIs had already begun to aggressively write off loans. Microfinance has earned a reputation as a resilient · In Pakistan microfinance was hit by a wave industry emerging largely unscathed through the of borrower groups refusing to repay their East Asian crisis of 1997 and Latin American crisis loans in late 2008 in the central part of Punjab of 2000. The global economic recession beginning Province in semi-urban areas adjacent to in 2008 has been more widespread and severe. In the provincial capital of Lahore. The impact some cases, microfinance borrowers have been was initially concentrated in one MFI, but at affected by the economic downturn, job losses, least one other MFI has had a sharp rise in and declining flow of remittances. Late payments PAR in 2009, and it is likely that at least three on loans have recently risen across the microfinance MFIs lending in this same region now face industry. The MIX median for PAR rose to nearly 3 significant repayment difficulties. percent by December 2008, and the Symbiotics12 11 See Reille (2010). 12 Symbiotics is a microfinance investment intermediary based in Switzerland. Since December 2005 Symbiotics has produced the SYM 50 index based on monthly performance data from 50 large MFIs. 6 SYM 50 median PAR rose to over 4.5 percent by loans. The no pago movement organized by a June 2009 (see Figure 6). But these increases were politically influential group of borrowers created mild compared to the delinquency crises in our a sizeable pocket of delinquency in a northern four countries, and many countries have managed region of Nicaragua. In Pakistan a loan waiver to sustain strong repayment during the global proclamation by a local politician, and the spread economic recession. The four case studies reveal of false loan waiver news stories, gave momentum that the economic recession was an aggravating to the mass default there. These local events factor but not a principal cause of the repayment influenced the crises and the public dialogue about crises. Most of the MFI managers interviewed by the crises, but they were symptoms of underlying CGAP didn't name the global crisis as the primary vulnerabilities within the microfinance industry cause of their recent repayment problems. itself and not root causes of the crises. Local Events: Politicians, Religious Contagion Factors: How Far and Fast Leaders, and Borrower Associations Can Credit Crises Spread? As microfinance grew, it inevitably attracted more Repayment problems in microfinance have typically attention, sometimes unwelcome attention. This been more confined events that did not affect has included resistance from local political leaders markets at regional or national levels. However, or religious institutions voicing objections, such when news or rumors spread quickly through media as the poor should not have to repay loans, the or social channels, the chances of a wider and poor are not in a position to negotiate favorable deeper repayment crisis increase and confidence terms, women should not be borrowers, or simply, in the sector can decline. The precipitous takeover microfinance is not a part of the solution to the of a large MFI in Morocco signaled that it might not problems of the poor. Sometimes MFI practices be able to continue to provide loans, dampening draw criticism (e.g., unsavory loan collection incentives to repay. The discussion of this in the methods). At times this has led to groups of press accelerated the failure of this MFI and even borrowers being organized to speak out against affected other MFIs. The political support by MFIs and to even going so far as to refuse to repay President Ortega of the no pago movement at the Figure 6: Loan Delinquency in MFIs Globally Median Portfolio-at-Risk over 30 Days 8 MIX Benchmarks Symbiotics 50 6 Percent 4 2 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Year Source: Symbiotics, November 2009; MIX Benchmarks, December 2008. 7 Table 1: Levels of Multiple Borrowing % active borrowers with loans from >1 MFI Sources Nicaragua 40 (2009) Interview with director of Nicaraguan MFI Morocco 40 (2007) Central bank and credit information sharing among the five largest MFIs 39 (2008) 29 (2009) BiH 40 (2009) MFI clients survey, MiBOSPO Pakistan 21 (2009) Nationwide Pakistan Microfinance Network 30 (2009) Districts with repayment crisis beginning of the crisis received press coverage that evenly and instead competed more aggressively widened and deepened the repayment problems in concentrated geographic regions. This lending in Nicaragua. In Pakistan, social networks aided by concentration increased the likelihood that clients mobile telephone connections rapidly escalated borrowed from more than one MFI. In Morocco, a small local problem into a wider regional crisis the central bank estimated that 40 percent of across semi-urban, Punjabi-speaking, low-income borrowers had loans from more than one MFI communities. These social networks can also set just as the repayment crisis began. There are the boundaries beyond which a crisis is unlikely to similar precrisis estimates for Nicaragua, BiH, and spread. The refusal of borrower groups in Pakistan Pakistan. (See Table 1.) to repay did not spread to rural areas or regions with cultures distinctly different from the crisis- Concentration is partly due to simple probability: affected areas. as MFIs grow they are more likely to run into other MFIs. But there are deliberate decisions by MFIs The Heart of the Problems... that reinforce this tendency. MFIs often devise strategies that prioritize markets with greater While many factors influence the course of a crisis, economic activity and higher population density, the case studies reveal that three vulnerabilities increasing the likelihood of overlapping with other within the microfinance industry lie at the heart of MFIs targeting those same areas for the same the problems. reasons. In Pakistan and Morocco it had been a common practice among some MFIs to follow other Concentrated Market Competition and MFIs into local markets so that they can lend to the Multiple Borrowing same borrower groups. Early entrants are the first to screen and train new borrowers whereas later Growth naturally introduced higher levels of arrivals can skip over these up-front preparatory competition in our four case countries. One steps. Managers report that this practice lowers factor that intensified the competition was that client acquisition costs,13 at least in the short run. leading MFIs did not spread their services out 13 This practice makes an MFI's expansion costs appear lower and more appealing to prospective investors, but it understates the likely future costs once the MFI begins to expand into untouched new markets. 8 Multiple borrowing is not a new phenomenon. with the lender. The balance of MFI to borrower As highlighted in Portfolios of the Poor, poor relationships was even more delicate in the four households regularly borrow from multiple sources countries since the relationships were almost to smooth their cashflows (Collins, Morduch, exclusively for loans and did not include deeper Rutherford, and Ruthven 2009). Competition ties around savings, other financial services, or even enables clients to benefit from wider choice as provision of nonfinancial services. The diminished microfinance transforms from a sellers' to a incentive to repay means that late payments are buyers' market. As one microfinance leader in more likely to occur and, in some cases, to gain India remarked: "Remember that until 2­3 years momentum leading to a larger repayment crisis. ago, customers had no choice" (Srinivasan 2009). By accessing loans from several MFIs or alternating Borrowers can borrow larger total amounts than between loans, a borrower is less constrained by the before. With more choices, borrowers have the rigid loan repayment schedules typical of microfinance option to increase their total borrowings. Many loans. Some evidence show that multiple borrowing MFIs, especially in group-based lending, keep their may even be associated with better repayment loan sizes small expecting that their borrowers rates in some environments (Krishnaswamy 2007). will be able to meet their full borrowing needs from additional sources. This tacit loan syndication While the benefits can be substantial, competition lowers an MFI's exposure to any single borrower can introduce new market dynamics that are and also means borrowers have access to additional not always easy to see. One expert notes: "The liquidity from which to repay their various loans. In popular forms of microcredit have thrived precisely these ways multiple borrowing can be beneficial to because they imposed restraint on both lenders borrowers and the overall market. and borrowers, such as through joint liability and those rigid weekly payments.... However, the arrival Yet these same conditions also make it more likely of competition has at times severely tested these that some clients will begin to borrow amounts methods by enabling people to quietly borrow from beyond their means. In our focal countries more than one MFI at a time" (Roodman 2009). borrowers often moved from having no choices of formal credit to having several choices within Growth in our four countries introduced two new a few years, rapidly increasing their ability to dynamics that altered basic market behavior. borrow more. The common practice of gradually raising loan sizes to ensure borrowers remain Borrowers are less dependent on a single MFI. within their repayment limits is less useful as a risk One of the underlying premises of microfinance is management tool when borrowers can easily raise that borrowers repay their loans in order to sustain their total borrowings from multiple sources. A a relationship that allows them to get another, often book about the credit crisis of 1999 in Bolivia made larger, loan. This delicate relationship between an apt analogy, "Apparently credit is like good lender and borrower can be gradually undermined food: when seated at the table in front of a feast, as ever higher levels of multiple borrowing many people eat too much and regret it later..." take hold in a crowded market. Borrowers can (Rhyne 2001). The wide range of credit options default with one MFI, whether by choice or out can lead some borrowers to take on repayment of sheer necessity, and still retain their borrowing obligations that exceed their cashflow. While it relationship with other MFIs. They may not even is difficult to precisely define when a borrower have much incentive left to try to work things out becomes over-indebted,14 or to measure informal 9 credit obligations, it is clear that many borrowers' Overstretched MFI Systems and Controls total debt exposure increased significantly in our four countries. This was particularly true in BiH and As growth kicks in MFIs are stretched in new ways, Morocco. A study estimated that 16 percent of and three kinds of capacity gaps were found in our borrowers in BiH reported being close to exceeding case countries. their repayment capacity (EFSE/MFC 2008). An MFI manager in BiH remarked in retrospect, "We Adding large numbers of staff in a short time gave clients more than they could handle. At the can mean new staff are not well prepared for their time some of them could pay but now because of jobs. MFIs must recruit, train, and promote large the economy they can't." numbers of staff to grow. MFIs in the four countries added nearly 40 percent new staff each year. MFIs The four case countries illustrate how concentrated in Pakistan had the largest expansion of staff, with a lending and competition, particularly when net increase of 9,600 individuals from 2004 to 2008. introduced rapidly, can diminish incentives to Under normal conditions, staff might receive three repay and can weaken the risk-mitigating effects of to six months of on-the-job training before assuming MFI loan size limits. Subtle changes in repayment new responsibilities. Rapid growth requires MFIs incentives and amounts of borrowing can change to assign staff more quickly into responsible market dynamics and potentially lead to repayment positions, sometimes resulting in less care being crises. In some circumstances MFIs adapt to these taken in recruitment, training, and preparation. changes and manage risk well. This has been the Managers also reported that staff shifted from reputation of Bolivia over the last decade following one MFI to another more frequently as demand a repayment crisis in 1999, for example. But our for new staff across MFIs escalated. Maintaining a four case countries show that more competitive consistent staff culture is more difficult in growth market conditions can increase credit risks. environments.15 (See Figure 7.) Figure 7: Rapid Addition of Staff by MFIs Total Staff: CAGR 39% Four-Country Total 30,000 25,000 20,000 No. of staff 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Year Source: MIX data, Pakistan data from the Pakistan Microfinance Network. 14 Over-indebtedness is usually defined as when a borrower's repayment obligations of loan principal and interest exceed his or her cashflows. 15 MIX data do not show any discernable patterns in the total borrowers-to-staff ratios. We speculate that this is due to the rapid introduction of new staff who begin with few clients which is blended together with the higher productivity of more experienced staff. The two factors combined may largely cancel each other out for significant stretches of time during periods of higher growth. 10 Rapid growth places a higher premium on a internal controls created gaps that led to lapses strong middle management cadre. Most strong in credit discipline described in the next section. MFIs have established a sound head office but few In Morocco a leading MFI grew by 150 percent in have the requisite depth at a middle-management 2006 with an obsolete management information level to support rapid growth. When an MFI is still system producing misleading reports contributing small, the head office can provide direct oversight to the delinquency crisis soon after. of field operations. Rapid growth changes this, as senior management must deal with increasing In the countries that have already experienced pressures from external stakeholders, such as deteriorations of credit quality MFIs acknowledge investors and regulators, even as their operations that their internal capacity did not keep pace. As an grow. It puts a premium on capable mid-level MFI director in BiH remarked, "We were focused managers to oversee more distant large-scale on competing instead of building our capacity." operations. Typically, frontline branch staff are An investor added, "These MFIs were growing so promoted to fill middle-management positions. rapidly, they didn't have time to put proper risk These newly minted middle managers may be management in place, and they didn't see the experienced in sales and loan recovery, but they downturn coming." must make a switch to the different skills and outlook required for management. Looking back, Erosion of MFI Credit Discipline an MFI manager in Pakistan regrets overburdening regional managers with supervision responsibilities In growing and competitive markets MFIs are likely for as many as 75 branches. This MFI is rethinking to take more risks to acquire new customers and its entire middle-management approach. Another expand their product offerings. An MFI manager manager in Pakistan, whose MFI appears to have in BiH recalled, "There was just something in the avoided many of the worst repayment problems, air to compete. Other MFIs started to come to noted, "Any organization that grows beyond our region and to take a piece of our pie, so we its supervisory capacity can end up facing high decided to jump and do the same things." The defaults." attitudes and priorities of MFI managers filtered down to frontline staff who were given short-term Growth strains internal controls that are critical to focused performance incentives that emphasized maintain discipline and minimize fraud. Inadequate growth and market share. In some cases these internal controls were cited as the most common incentives came at the expense of credit discipline weakness by MFIs in BiH, Morocco, and Nicaragua. and contributed to the later delinquency crises. From 2005 to 2008 the internal audit staff of a leading MFI in Morocco doubled whereas the MFIs intent on making profits and growing fast total staff grew fivefold. Straining to meet growth emphasize operational efficiency. Managers search targets combined with less strict oversight for cost savings by reducing the frequency of group compliance undermined internal controls. MFIs in meetings, streamlining borrower analysis, or using Pakistan failed to effectively implement policies new delivery infrastructure. Often these new credit requiring visits to the borrowers' homes and approaches are popular with clients who can access did not enforce rules to ensure that loans were services even more quickly and easily. However, disbursed directly to the end-borrowers. Looser these changes in credit underwriting and delivery 11 must be balanced with an accurate assessment to recover loans (Burki 2009). The borrowers, of a borrower's credit capacity, which requires where they existed, were controlled by agents sound knowledge of the behavior and livelihoods who did not have the same loyalty to the MFI as of clients. One of the risks of growth is that MFIs loan officers did. may neglect customer services and relationships, even losing the face-to-face relationships with their Staff incentives are effective for improving clients that are critical to credit quality. efficiency and overall MFI performance, but they can also have unintended effects. Incentive schemes MFIs in Morocco and Nicaragua increased loan normally measure and reward lending volumes and sizes between 2002 and 2008 by 132 percent and portfolio quality monthly or quarterly. Staff are 68 percent, respectively. These increases were tempted to increase their short-term remuneration, due to a greater focus on individual small business sometimes at the expense of healthier, long- lending and the addition of new housing and term client relationships. Under pressure to meet consumer loans to existing borrowers. Some MFIs in targets, and with limited supervisory oversight, Morocco and BiH rushed to develop new products, frontline staff occasionally resort to unsavory but did so without sound borrower assessment collection practices that do long-term damage to tools or proper staff training. An International client relationships. There are few examples of Finance Corporation (IFC) study16 calculated that staff incentive schemes that incorporate long-term 40 percent of the delinquency in Morocco was client satisfaction as a meaningful indicator.17 As due to changes in loan policies, such as loan size one MFI manager in BiH remarked looking back increases and the introduction of new products. on recent repayment troubles: Shifting to individual lending also requires more skilled analysis of borrowers' cash flows than group We tolerated some credit officers that went approaches, and introducing individual lending overboard. They were overstretched because has been challenging in microfinance under the they wanted to earn more bonuses. But they best of circumstances. also wanted our institution to be the first in the market. Some of our loan officers had caseloads In the group-lending approach in Pakistan there of more than 600 clients two years ago. This was also a troubling rise in the use of informal was too much, and we are still working on agents to manage groups. Loan officers focused reducing caseload. on meeting volume targets increasingly delegated loan processes to these female agents who began Target-driven, high growth can tempt MFIs to to amass loans from multiple MFIs. In some cases relax their lending discipline to reach volume the borrowers listed in the group never received and increase credit risk. These problems often any loans. The widespread refusal to repay loans, grow undetected for some time, making MFIs which began in 2008 in Pakistan, was driven by susceptible to a larger scale delinquency crisis. these agents who had gained unusual power over the entire lending process. Over time the The Role of Market Infrastructure relationship of loan officers with borrowers had weakened to such an extent that when the agents Over the past decade significant investments have revolted against the MFIs it became much harder been made to develop a robust industry market 16 IFC private research, November 2008. 17 IFMR Trust in India is testing client wealth measures as the basis for staff incentives. 12 Box 1: Are Other Countries Vulnerable? The Case of India India is home to the fastest growing MFIs in the world. A net 8.5 million active borrowers were added in the fiscal year ending March 2009. Within India there is considerable debate about whether a repayment crisis is possible. At the December 2009 Srijan investors conference panelists debated "Microfinance and Sub-Prime: Is the Comparison Real?" There is no evidence in asset quality data of any widespread repayment crisis in the fiscal year that ended in March 2009. Nevertheless, a number of industry analysts have highlighted industry vulnerabilities. Growth of Loan Portfolio 2,000 1,800 1,600 US$ millions 1,400 1,200 1,000 Average per Country: CAGR 33% 800 India: CAGR 59% 600 400 200 0 2004 2008 Year Source: MIX panel data. What is the extent of multiple borrowing? India is a huge market with a low total penetration rate, but half of all MFI lending is in only three of India's 28 states and further concentrated within those three states. The levels of multiple borrowing from formal sources go up even higher if the loans of the large-scale self-help group systems are factored in. A recent delinquency outbreak in one part of Karnataka State in early 2009 occurred in towns where more than half a dozen MFIs were lending. At the same time, efforts are underway to push expansion into underserved regions. This geographic diversification may reduce the levels of lending concentration and possibly mitigate some risks. Recognizing the need, some of India's largest MFIs have recently formed an association that aims to invest in a credit bureau and enforce caps on the number of loans and amounts MFIs can lend to any individual. Is institutional capacity overstretched? Indian MFIs are subject to significant scrutiny from their private equity investors who often undertake more rigorous due diligence than many donor- or government-funded investments. At the same time, the growth is unprecedented. Since 2005 Indian MFIs have grown their total staff numbers more than fourfold, adding nearly 20,000 net new staff in 2008 alone, according to MIX data. The founder of one of India's leading rating agencies recently noted that his team finds branches where trainee managers are training fresh staff.a Growth is still heavily driven by the largest five organizations, but the next 10 largest MFIs are also growing fast. Are MFIs losing credit discipline? Indian MFIs rely on group lending and have not ventured into new loan products on a large scale. There are reports of sharp rises in loan sizes in some places, as well as increasing loan officer caseloads, and the use of agents to organize groups (Srinivasan 2009). CRISIL Ratingsb notes a link between growth pressures and loosening credit standards, such as reduced waiting time for loans, no longer staggering initial loan disbursements among group members, and fewer post-disbursement borrower checks. However, the most recent industry data from March 2009 continued to show solid asset quality. Views within India on vulnerabilities in microfinance vary widely. One MFI manager commented on the recent troubles in Karnataka State, "These are external disturbances that do not change the underlying credit quality or the credit behavior of the consumers" (Srinivasan 2009). The CRISIL report strikes a more cautionary note, "MFIs risk management practices have weakened over the past couple of years on account of a shift in focus towards business growth and network expansion.... The overall asset quality of MFIs is healthy; however, this is expected to decline marginally." Notes: a. Statement by Sanjay Sinha, managing director of M-CRIL, 27 October 2009, New Delhi at the Microfinance India Summit. b. http://www.crisil.com/index.jsp 13 infrastructure to provide investors and MFIs with loans. Essential as they are, audits did little to accurate and timely information on microfinance detect or mitigate the crises in our four focal performance. Reliable and comparable reporting countries. It is unlikely that standard audits would on MFIs is essential to assess risks and opportunity. ever be able to provide warning of large-scale Market infrastructure investments include disclosure repayment crises in time. standards on financial performance, standards for external audits, external ratings, and credit Ratings. Ratings by mainstream financial sector information bureaus (CIBs). Social performance rating agencies as well as by the four specialized assessment tools are increasingly available and microfinance rating agencies18 have become can offer insight into client satisfaction and can common in microfinance. Collectively these improve credit risk management. More progress agencies completed 450 microfinance ratings in and investment is needed, however, to keep 2008. The methodologies used by specialized pace with rapid changes in microfinance markets. rating agencies offer insightful assessments of MFI Growth has exposed vulnerabilities in microfinance institutional performance. However, MFI ratings that market infrastructure initiatives must take into preceding the repayment crises in the four focal account in the future. A recent CGAP publication countries did not emphasize strongly enough the notes that "...MFIs operate with risks that investors risks and vulnerabilities discussed in this paper. need to be concerned about. Unfortunately, The ratings of two collapsed MFIs in Nicaragua and external audits, ratings, evaluations and even Morocco failed to identify weaknesses in lending supervision often fail to identify the primary methodology and internal controls. The ratings risk--faulty representation of portfolio quality..." in BiH more consistently highlighted competition (Christen and Flaming 2009). and multiple borrowing, but continued to give MFIs strong ratings, with the largest seven MFIs External Audits. According to MIX, the quality receiving A or A- ratings. A financial rating agency of MFI audits improved as auditors familiarized in Pakistan gave a BBB+/A-3 grade with a stable themselves with the microfinance business and outlook to an MFI that, within 12 months, was in a built their expertise in this growing market. A serious repayment crisis. number of audit firms carved out specialty groups to service the MFI market. The presentation of MFI Rating agencies should give more weight to financial statements improved considerably, and business environment and market dynamics, but over 250 MFIs now have financial audits compliant it is unlikely that standard ratings approaches can with International Financial Reporting Standards. offer reliable advance warnings of deteriorations in Yet it is unreasonable to expect that financial audits portfolio quality. It is even more important for MFI alone can reliably assess the quality of MFI credit managers and investors to step up their own due portfolios. Audits provide a professional review diligence to better assess credit and market risks. of financial statements, accounting policies, and internal control. But microfinance audits often do Portfolio Testing. The limitations of standard not include reconciliation of loan accounts with audits and rating tools to provide advance warning a meaningful sample of clients nor can audits of possible repayment crises mean it is increasingly adequately assess the underlying quality of many important for MFIs and their investors to use thousands (in some cases millions) of outstanding additional portfolio quality assessment measures. 18 M-CRIL, Microfinanza, Microrate, and Planet Rating. 14 More frequent use of portfolio testing tools, such the right kind of incentives for loan repayment, as those developed by CGAP and MicroSave,19 and they facilitate access to finance by building conducted by appropriately skilled teams would client credit histories. Even so, the benefits should enhance confidence in microcredit portfolio quality not be overstated. CIBs are not a substitute for reports. Rigorous portfolio reviews are not cheap, sound credit methodology or credit discipline. A but they offer a tool to help mitigate risk and build CIB alone is not sufficient to prevent the dangers robust institutions. In a growing microfinance posed by reckless MFI behaviors. industry with ever more at stake, the time has come for more widespread and regular use of such Conclusion: What Are the Lessons tools. Microfinance Should Take from These Recent Repayment Crises? Credit Information Bureaus. CIBs, which provide credit histories of individual borrowers, are This Focus Note sheds light on recent repayment still new in microfinance, and only a handful of crises affecting growing microfinance markets countries have well functioning CIBs serving the in Nicaragua, Morocco, BiH, and Pakistan. The microfinance industry. In our four focal markets, case studies show that external forces, such as only Nicaragua had well-functioning CIBs, but even macroeconomic conditions, local politics and Nicaragua was hampered by the separation of CIBs events, and contagion, can all affect the speed for regulated and nonregulated MFIs. In Pakistan and spread of a delinquency crisis. However, these only microfinance banks must submit data to a CIB contextual factors, including the recent global but this leaves out nongovernmental organizations economic recession, were not the primary causes that still service the largest number of microfinance of the repayment crises. Instead three kinds of borrowers. Morocco and BiH began CIB projects in vulnerabilities prevalent within these growing 2005, but they became operational only after the microfinance markets were at the heart of the repayment crises had already started. problems: lending concentration and multiple borrowing, overstretched MFI capacity, and a loss Almost without exception microfinance managers of MFI credit discipline. who have lived through repayment crises wish they had access to a well-functioning CIB much earlier. These four cases of repayment crises have arisen As one MFI leader in Nicaragua said, "Don't recently in what remains a wider microfinance wait until the problems are there before putting success story. Microfinance has established a credit bureau in place." In our four countries that it can grow and sustain high asset quality precrisis attempts to strengthen CIBs were not and financial returns. It can attract social and effective, and it was only after the crises erupted commercial investors and offer valued services that CIB initiatives have gained momentum as to large numbers of poor people. The growth MFIs finally feel the need to make this investment. of microfinance brings many welcome, indeed Experiences show that CIBs are no longer a essential, benefits to the underserved poor. luxury but are becoming essential for credit risk management. In increasingly competitive markets, Large-scale repayment crises, like the ones CIBs provide critical information on clients' debt described in this paper, have been rare but they exposure and repayment behaviors that even the are not new in microfinance. There is a good very best MFI cannot generate alone. CIBs create historical track record of adaptation and response. 19 http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.9.36521/; http://www.microsave.org/toolkit/loan-portfolio-audit-toolkit 15 Several high-profile markets, such as Bolivia, have delinquency problems, but they are critical experienced significant episodes of repayment to improving credit risk management and problems.20 The response to these earlier crises to managing multiple borrowing. Their ensured that the industry adapted to changing development and wide use should be market conditions and client demands. accelerated on a global basis even before microfinance markets become highly The four more recent crises discussed in this competitive or over-concentrated. paper also offer lessons we can use to build a · Financial access mapping through the stronger microfinance industry in the years ahead. provision of reliable information on the MFI managers, MFI investors, and policy makers geographic and socioeconomic penetration should give more attention to the growth model of microfinance services would help identify of microfinance. In the first decade of this century, both underserved and saturated markets. the focus was on expanding access to services. Such data provided on a regular, timely basis As a result, millions of clients have gained access can help identify risks and opportunities to microcredit, thanks to high-growth institutions in certain geographies, empowering MFI fuelled by abundant funds. In the next decade, managers, investors, and regulators with the focus should be on sustainable growth. useful information. To help achieve this we offer three specific recommendations: These recommendations on their own would strengthen the microfinance industry in many · In an increasingly competitive environment, countries. But there is a wider lesson and call for MFIs should balance their growth objectives action. The recent delinquency crises are a reminder with the need to improve the quality of that microfinance remains a risk management client services and ensure the long-term business. The microfinance industry can justifiably sustainability of client relationships. More emphasize its strong historical financial and social emphasis will be needed to regularly assess performance. Yet new risks and challenges are client satisfaction and the behavioral dynamics being discovered as microfinance develops. MFI of markets. managers, investors, and regulators should look · Credit information bureaus are an essential for and be open to discussions of these new risks component of the market infrastructure for and work to find the most appropriate mitigation microfinance. CIBs alone will not prevent measures. 20 Bolivia experienced a microfinance repayment crisis in 1999 following several years of rapid expansion. Krishnaswamy, Karuna. 2007. "Competition and References multiple borrowing in the Indian microfinance No. 61 sector." Center for Microfinance, IFMR, Chennai. February 2010 Burki, Hussan-Bano. 2009. "Unraveling the Working Paper. Delinquency Problem (2008/9) in Punjab." MicroNote No. 10. Pakistan Microfinance Lascelles, David. 2008. Microfinance Banana Skins Network. 2008: Risk in a booming industry. Center for the Please share this Study of Financial Innovation. http://www.citibank. Focus Note with your CGAP. 2009. "CGAP Funder Survey 2009." com/citi/microfinance/data/news080303b.pdf colleagues or request Washington, D.C.: CGAP. http://www.cgap.org/ extra copies of this gm/document-1.9.40544/Funder%20Surveys%20 ------. 2009. Microfinance Banana Skins 2009: paper or others in Snapshots%202009%20Global.pdf this series. Confronting crisis and change. Center for the Study of Financial Innovation. http://www.citibank.com/ CGAP welcomes Christen, Robert, and Mark Flaming. 2009. "Due citi/microfinance/data/news090703a1.pdf your comments on Diligence Guidelines for the Review of Microcredit this paper. Loan Portfolios: A Tiered Approach." Technical Reille, Xavier. 2010. "The Rise, Fall, and Recovery Guide. Washington, D.C.: CGAP. of the Microfinance Sector in Morocco." Brief. All CGAP publications are available on the Washington, D.C.: CGAP. http://www.cgap.org/ Collins, Daryl, Jonathan Morduch, Stuart CGAP Web site at gm/document-1.9.41164/Morocco_Brief.pdf www.cgap.org. Rutherford, and Orlanda Ruthven. 2009. Portfolios of the Poor: How the World's Poor Live on $2 a Rhyne, Elisabeth. 2001. "Mainstreaming CGAP Day. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Microfinance: How Lending to the Poor Began, 1818 H Street, NW Grew and Came of Age in Bolivia." Kumarian MSN P3-300 EFSE/MFC. 2008. "Pilot Study: Access of Low- Washington, DC Press. 20433 USA Income Households to Financial Services in BiH." Roodman, David. 2009. Microfinance Open Book Tel: 202-473-9594 Holtmann, M., et al. 2002. "Developing Staff Blog. Chapter 7. http://blogs.cgdev.org/open_ Fax: 202-522-3744 Incentive Scheme." Microsave. http://www. book/. microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m//template. Email: rc/1.9.29659 Srinivasan, N. 2009. Microfinance India State of the cgap@worldbank.org © CGAP, 2010 Sector Report 2009. Sage Publications India. Holtmann, M., and M. Grammling. 2005. "A Toolkit for Designing and Implementing Staff Incentive Schemes." Microsave. http://www. microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m//template. rc/1.9.29429 The authors of this Focus Note are Greg Chen, Stephen Rasmussen, (MIX), Sarah Forster (Geoeconomics), and Rich Rosenberg and and Xavier Reille. The Focus Note was written with research support Jeannette Thomas (both at CGAP) for extensive comments and from Christoph Kneiding and Meritxell Martinez. The authors would guidance in writing this Focus Note. like to thank Ann Duval for her analysis on BiH and Adrian Gonzalez The suggested citation for this Focus Note is as follows: Chen, Greg, Stephen Rasmussen, and Xavier Reille. 2010. "Growth and Vulnerabilities in Microfinance." Focus Note 61. Washington, D.C.: CGAP, February.