Icra cuts outlook on Satin Creditcare's bonds to negative

Move prompted by rising defaults in MFI loan books following note ban in November

With rising delinquencies in microfinance loan books, rating agency Icra has revised the outlook on Satin Creditcare Network Ltd’s (SCNL) debentures from “stable” to “negative".

The revision in outlook reflects SCNL’s elevated financial risk profile following demonetisation, which is reflected in the lender's deteriorating asset quality.

Icra in statement said collection efficiency in SCNL’s loan portfolio dropped from over 99 per cent (pre-demonetisation) to 78 per cent for the period November 2016 to February 2017. The dip in collection performance was due to limited currency supply, disruption in borrowers’ cash flows and political intervention in certain districts of