Committee to be appointed to study microfinance - Shehan Semasinghe

COLOMBO (News1st): A committee will be appointed to obtain information regarding microfinance, state minister Shehan Semasinghe said. "This would include officers from the treasury, the central bank, our ministry, and representatives of money-lending unions," the microfinance state minister noted. His remarks came amidst mounting complains that lenders have offered loans at extremely high-interest rates. "We obtained 45,000 rupees. However, we have to pay around 60,000 rupees even after settling seven instalments," one borrower complained. The aim of microfinance is to improve the lives of low-income earners by helping them become self-sufficient, according to the central bank. However, as of late, questions have been raised regarding the demerits of such financial services. Data gathered from 37 microfinance lenders showed that Rs 94 billion had been disbursed to 2.8 million borrowers among which 2.4 million were women in 2018, the Lanka Microfinance Practitioners’ Association said.