Microcredit Performance Measures

Degree of Market Formulation
Quantitative Measures Performance Evaluation
  • Active borrowers
  • Conversion ratio (loans lent as a % of applicants or outreach contacts)
  • Percentage of staff time spent on outreach and group formation
Number of contacts needed to find, screen, and yield clients, or efficiency of staff outreach and marketing
Development Impact
Quantitative Measures Performance Evaluation
  • Number of clients served
  • percentage increase in customer incomes
  • Number of businesses created, maintained, or grown
  • Jobs created (including self-employment)
  • Qualitative gains/personal development
Whether the intended results are being achieved and whether they remain appropriate
Operating Results
Quantitative Measures Performance Evaluation
  • Total costs per average loan
  • Revenues per average loan
  • Clients per loan officer/staff person
  • Staff expense as a percentage of average assets
  • Net interest margin
  • Unit cost ratio
  • Cost per currency unit lent
Whether annual volume of clients is increasing and whether costs are decreasing per loan
Financial Condition
Quantitative Measures Performance Evaluation
  • Average portfolio outstanding
  • Liquidity ratio
  • Delinqency and loan ageing reports
  • Ratio of losses to average portfolio outstandings
Portfolio credit risk and financial health of the organization
Required Subsidy
Quantitative Measures Performance Evaluation
  • Self-sufficiency ratio
The percentage of total operating costs that are met from internal revenue sources (interest on loans, interest on investments, and fee income).

Source:
Originated by ACCION International, and quoted in OECD (1996), "Microcredit in Transitional Economies" Paris: The Programme on Local Economic and Employment Development, OECD, p.74

Hari Srinivas - hsrinivas@gdrc.org
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