Microfinance Industry Network (MFIN) was established in 2009 as an Association for NBFC-MFIs.
In 2014, MFIN was recognised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as India’s first Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) for the NBFC-MFIs
The year 2019 saw MFIN complete ten years of its existence as an Association. Over a period of time, as members graduated as Universal Bank and Small Finance Bank coupled with entry of banks and NBFCs in microfinance space, MFIN has expanded its umbrella to cover the entire microfinance ecosystem.
MFIN Members are RBI regulated entities comprising the Non-Banking Financial Companies – Microfinance Institutions (NBFC-MFI), Banks, Small Finance Banks, NBFCs, Banking Correspondents, Credit Bureau, Fintech companies, among several others.
Master Directions of RBI for the NBFC-MFIs encourage them to become a member of at least one SRO recognized by the RBI and to comply with the Code of Conduct prescribed by the SRO. The Direction, while entrusting the responsibility for compliance to all regulations with the NBFC-MFIs themselves, also see industry associations/SROs playing a key role in ensuring compliance with the regulatory framework.
As an SRO, MFIN reports to the RBI on a quarterly basis on the industry including operational and financial trends, customer complaints, non-compliances, actions taken and emerging issues, among other things.
The impact of Microfinance on borrowers can be gauged by the fact that over 7 crore women are at present being reached through these small, easily serviceable, collateral free loans, impacting as many as 300 million families. As a result, a vast unbanked and unserved population of India today has access to formal credit even in the remotest districts of India.
By
KMA Team
