It might surprise many of you, ask your driver, your help at home, or the small chai shop owner how much interest he pays when he or she takes an unsecured loan taken in the private loan market. He or she might be paying four to five times more than the interest rate which any regular bank charges on an unsecured loan. That is what led to the birth of microfinance companies, now many of them are small finance banks. They are providing lending at the lowest end of the pyramid. Their interest rates were higher than normal banks would charge, but would surely much lower than what private money lenders in these parts of the country charges. That is where the opportunities are present for these small finance banks. After a phase of tough regulatory challenges, they have emerged stronger.
