New Delhi, May 12 (PTI) Equitas Small Finance Bank (SFB) on Wednesday said its collection efficiency in April this year has reached over 105 per cent, with the corporate sector contributing the highest.

Collection efficiency represents total collections during a month, as a percentage of total EMIs due during that period.

On the other hand, the billing efficiency in April 2021 -- EMIs collected during the month as a percentage of total EMIs due -- stood at 84.68 per cent.

Whereas the collection efficiency from the corporate sector soared to 300.45 per cent, that from MSE finance stood at 151 per cent. Among others, small business loans and vehicle finance collection efficiencies were at over 97 per cent and 84 per cent respectively.

The overall collection efficiency in the preceding month March 2021 was higher at 108.51 per cent.

Likewise, the billing efficiency in March this year was also higher at 91.12 per cent.

These ratio with respect to the collection and billing efficiencies were inclusive of EMIs of accounts which were in NPA also and not just standard assets, the lender said.

On the other hand, excluding the NPAs/non-NPA, the collection efficiency in April was 95.69 per cent and billing efficiency was 88.12 per cent, which were lower than preceding month in both the cases.

P N Vasudevan, Managing Director and CEO of Equitas Small Finance Bank, said the Q4 of FY21 was near normal with no lockdowns anywhere in the country and the livelihoods were almost back on track.

"This was reflected in our performance also with disbursements in March 2021 touching an all-time high and collection also at pre-Covid levels," he added.

However, Vasudevan said the recent surge in the infections along with localised and regional lockdowns is going to delay the return to normalcy.

He said the collection in current month may get impacted and could dampen economic revival.

Equitas SFB primarily focuses on the micro and small enterprises from the informal segment of the economy.

The lender said about 90 per cent of its borrowers availed the moratorium in the first phase last year.

However, by end of the year, the collection efficiencies were back to the pre-COVID levels, Vasudevan said, expressing hope the customers will show resilience when the economy opens up from the current phase of lockdowns.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)