MSME lending: Maharashtra's ranking plunges to 9 in FY19 on dip in market growth; Gujarat continues to top list

Mumbai: Worries over the asset quality have led to Maharashtra slipping to the ninth rank for small businesses lending in FY19, from the number four slot in the previous year. Gujarat continues to top the list of states on the ranking on overall credit lending opportunity since the past four years, according to the data from state-run financier Sidbi and credit information company Transunion Cibil. Maharashtra, among the most industrialised states, was ranked No 1 in FY16, but slipped to No 2 position the next fiscal to Gujarat, and continued on the trajectory, coming in at No 4 in FY18 and at the 9th slot in FY19. [caption id=“attachment_1429323” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational Image. Reuters[/caption] “For Maharashtra, the deterioration during the period from FY16 to FY19 was primarily due to a reduction in market growth. Bad loans have also increased over the years,” the study said. The state, which is headed for elections soon, is ranked top on market size, credit outstanding, total accounts and the number of borrowers, when it comes to serving the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) having a credit exposure of less than Rs 50 crore. The study pegs the overall credit exposure in the country at Rs 116.7 lakh crore as of March 2019, of which as much as 55 percent are with the corporates. On system-wide NPAs, which have dominated the narrative for the past five years, it said there has been a fall with gross bad loans in the commercial loan segment coming in at 16 percent in March 2019 from 17.2 percent in March 2018. Bad loans peaked in the period between March 2018 to June 2018 for medium and large segment, it said, adding commercial credit is on a recovery mode with bad loans finally declining since them.