May 12, 2004
Microfinance in Romania, again
Here are some numbers from one of the companies providing microfinance services here in Romania.
Taken from the quarterly report:
Total loan volume in quarter: $1,527,750 (women $418,450 – 27%)
Cumulative historical loan volume: $14,192,649
Total number of loans in quarter: 230 (women 78 – 34%)
Number of active clients: 994
Portfolio at risk (> 30 days): 2.4%
Principal Outstanding: $4,785,538
Repayment rate: 99.6%
Write off rate: 0.2%
Loan write-offs during the period: 0
The average loan size is is just under $5,000, and the average term is about 14 months. Interest rates are between 14 and 18 percent, dollar denominated. (Note again those repayment and write-off numbers.)
The total microfinance market in Romania is about $35 million, so this particular company -- with about $4.8 million outstanding -- accounts for about 14% of the market. It's fairly typical.
As I've said before, it's a market that is going nowhere but up. Unless someone does something stupid, of course, which is always a possibility.
Posted by douglas at May 12, 2004 10:22 AM