Code of Conduct Assessment (Coca) for Midland Microfin Limited
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CODE OF CONDUCT ASSESSMENT (COCA) FOR MIDLAND MICROFIN LIMITED (MMF) Date of Report - 24/Dec/2014 Valid Till - 23/Dec/2015 1 MIDLAND MICROFIN LIMITED (MMF) – SMERA COCA REPORT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Code of Conduct report for MIDLAND MICROFIN LIMITED (MMF) evaluates the company’s adherence to various code of conduct parameters. The study examines and comments upon the common minimum indicators such as: • Client Origination & Targeting • Loan Pricing & Transparency • Loan Appraisal • Privacy of Client Information • Staff Behaviour & Client Grievance Handling • Integrating Social Values Into Operations • Relationship Management and Feedback Mechanism • Compliance Status of MFI vis-à-vis the Recent RBI Guidelines SMERA believes that MMF exhibits Above Average Level of Adherence to all parameters and consequently complies well with the code of conduct laid out. This document details SMERA’s approach and methodology for this study and gives observations of its assessment team while conducting the evaluation. The Approval; Documentation; Dissemination and Observance (ADDO) framework has been used for assessment and measuring MMF’s adherence towards ethical operational practices. 2 MIDLAND MICROFIN LIMITED (MMF) – SMERA COCA REPORT SNAPSHOT D&B D-U-N-S® Number 65-079-1515 MFI Name MIDLAND MICROFIN LIMITED Trade Style MMF 02 nd Floor, Gobind Niwas, Registered Office & 36 G. T. Road, Jalandhar – 144 001 Corporate Office Address Punjab India (91) (181 ) ( 5085555 ) Telephone (91) (181) (5086666) Fax (91) (181) (2236070) Webpage www.midlandmicrofin.com Email [email protected] Microfinance services under Joint Liability Group (JLG) Line of Business Model Mr. Amardeep Singh Samra, Chief Executive Managing Director Non -Deposit Taking Non -Banking Finance Legal Form Company (NBFC) Microfinance Institution (MFI) Incorporation Date 27/May/1988 Date of Commencement of 25/Dec/2010 Microfinance Operations Company Registration Number U65921PB1988PLC008430 RBI Registration Number A-0600458 Total Employees 261 No. of Active Branches 28 Geographical Reach Punjab, Haryana & Rajasthan (03 States) Visit of the Assessment Team 09 th December, 2014 to 12 th December, 2014 3 MIDLAND MICROFIN LIMITED (MMF) – SMERA COCA REPORT BACKGROUND MMF operations are spread in three states namely Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan with the mission to do large scale poverty alleviation by providing micro-finance services to poor women, and through them to their families, facilitating increased earnings, better money management, and life quality improvement. Majority loan portfolio of MMF is maintained at Punjab state. Mr. Amardeep Singh Samra, is a commerce graduate and has 15 years of experience in the fields of Finance, Hire Purchase and Leasing activities. He is co – ordinator of Punjab & Haryana Finance Co’s Association and Joint Secretary of Federation of Indian Hire Purchase Association and actively participates in various socio – economic activities. He is also one of the principal promoter of ‘Capital Local Area Bank Limited’ the largest local area bank of the country. Mr. Dinesh Gupta is Commerce and Law Graduate and a fellow member of Company Secretaries of India. He has more than 25 years of rich experience in the fields of Corporate Law, Banking, Finance, Taxation and Social Administration. He is an instrumental in formation of Capital Local Area Bank Limited. 4 MIDLAND MICROFIN LIMITED (MMF) – SMERA COCA REPORT RATING Code of Conduct Assessment Score : 82%, COCA Rating – COCA 3 (Above Average Level of Adherence) RATING SCALE Rating Rating Definition COCA 1 Very High Level of Adherence COCA 2 High Level of Adherence COCA 3 Above Average Level of Adherence COCA 4 Average Level of Adherence COCA 5 Below Average Level of Adherence COCA 6 Low Level of Adherence MATRIX Performance Client Origination & Targeting 100% Compliance Status of MFI vis-à-vis Loan Pricing & the Recent RBI 82% Transparency Guidelines 88% 81% Relationship Management and 83% 0% Loan Appraisal Feedback 75% Mechanism 88% Integrating Social 90% 80% Privacy of Client Values Into Information Operations Staff Behaviour & Client Grievance Handling 5 MIDLAND MICROFIN LIMITED (MMF) – SMERA COCA REPORT SCORES ON PARAMETERS Code of Conduct Parameters % Performance Client Origination & Targeting 82% Loan Pricing & Transparency 88% Loan Appraisal 83% Privacy of Client Information 88% Staff Behavior and Client Grievance Handling 80% Integrating Social Values Into Operations 90% Relationship Management and Feedback Mechanism 75% Compliance Status of MFI vis-à-vis the Recent RBI Guidelines 81% 6 MIDLAND MICROFIN LIMITED (MMF) – SMERA COCA REPORT Business Model Loan Products MMF follows group based lending approach with a joint liability within the centre. The group consists of five members, to open a new centre, there must be minimum 03 groups are compulsory, later there can be up to maximum 08groups. Loans from MMF are given only for the income generation activities. Repayment Fortnightly Repayment Frequency Business Loan New Business Loan Pragati Loan Long Duration – Long Duration – Fortnightly Loan Products Fortnightly New Business Long Duration - Pragati Business Loan Loan Loan (LD – PL) (LD – BL) (LD – NBL) Loan 25 Fortnightly 50 Fortnightly 25 Fortnightly Installments Term/Duration Installments Installments BL – I = 10,000 to 15,000 BL – II = 13,000 to 15,000 Loan Size 7,000 to 13,000 16,000 to 22,000 BL – III = 20,000 to 25,000 * BL – IV = 26,000 to 30,000 * 27.70% per annum on diminishing balance method with Fortnightly rest Interest Rate (rounded to nearest rupee) Loan 01% on the disbursed loan amount plus 12.36% applicable service tax. Processing (rounded to next rupee) Fee *Loan Term/Duration - 50 Fortnightly Installments. 7 MIDLAND MICROFIN LIMITED (MMF) – SMERA COCA REPORT OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The objective is to evaluate MMF’s adherence to the code of conduct, The broad parameters for assessing the Code of Conduct are as follows • Client Origination & Targeting • Loan Pricing & Transparency • Loan Appraisal • Privacy of Client Information • Staff Behaviour & Client Grievance Handling • Integrating Social Values into Operations • Relationship Management and Feedback Mechanism • Compliance Status of MFI vis-à-vis the Recent RBI Guidelines 8 MIDLAND MICROFIN LIMITED (MMF) – SMERA COCA REPORT FRAMEWORK AND SCOPE The current perception surrounding Indian microfinance paints all entities across the sector in the same shade. However the fact that microfinance organizations display significant variations is important and needs to be adequately brought out. SMERA has always comprehensively and holistically assessed the risks involved in MFI operations and the resultant social impact of MFI operations. Besides evaluating creditworthiness of MFIs, SMERA also assess trustworthiness, operational excellence, quality of loans of MFIs, socio-economic impact and MFIs emphasis towards ethical behavior and responsible lending. SMERA has used the following framework for assessment of MFIs - The Approval; Documentation; Dissemination and Observance (ADDO) framework for measuring adherence of MFIs towards ethical operational practices. As part of the assessment, SMERA visited 09 branches of MMF in Punjab. The assessment was conducted as per a specific methodology and questionnaire. BOARD OF DIRECTORS List of Board of Directors Board Appointment date Amardeep Singh Samra Managing Director 07/06/2010 Dinesh Gupta Director 31/03/2011 Santosh Sigh Chhokar Director 31/03/2011 Shant Gupta Director 01/09/2011 Surinder Kaur Director 07/06/2010 Vijay Kumar Bhandari Director 28/03/2014 Jagdeep Singh Director 27/05/1988 9 MIDLAND MICROFIN LIMITED (MMF) – SMERA COCA REPORT HIGHLIGHT OF OPERATIONS Particulars 31/Mar/2012 31/Mar/2013 31/Mar/2014 10/Dec/2014 No. of states 1 2 3 3 No. of districts 4 11 21 28 No. of Centre offices 6 12 21 28 No. of total members 6,284 24,420 66,064 88,890 No. of active borrowers 5,756 23,376 46,525 69,159 No. of active loans 5,642 22,479 46,825 69,159 No. of loans disbursed during the 6,110 22,952 48,309 52,605 period No. of total employees 62 116 184 261 No. of field staff 30 63 84 101 Loan disbursements during the 62,900 244,100 559,945 667,748 period ( ```in thousands) Net Loan portfolio outstanding( ``` in 38,100 144,300 332,100 528,649 thousands) Active borrowers per field staff 192 371 554 685 10 MIDLAND MICROFIN LIMITED (MMF) – SMERA COCA REPORT ORGANOGRAM 11 MIDLAND MICROFIN LIMITED (MMF) – SMERA COCA REPORT CLIENT ORIGINATION & TARGETING Score – 82% Client origination is central to ethical microfinance operations. The code of conduct requires MFIs to practice ethical client origination while extending access to financial services. Also, an MFI’s commitment to targeting low income clients demonstrates its social mission. The way an MFI identifies and grows its client base must be approved by the board. The board should also ensure that the MFI’s product and services reach suitable clientele. Centre Officer (CO) is responsible for client origination in MMF. MMF conducts study of the potential new area and conducts survey on the basis of primary and secondary data of area to be entered. The criteria for selecting a new area for lending are: type of area (rural/semi-urban/urban), residential area for low-income groups, population density, proximity to existing operational areas, sources of income, socio-economic and political features, occupational activities, other loan sources, other MFI’s in the area, etc. Eligibility criteria for membership and group formation are: age, household