For ABN Amro, micro-finance has proved to be a viable and sustainable business opportunity. The bank has, within a year of launching micro-finance operations in India, managed to break even.

The finance support to needy groups is routed through micro-finance institutions (MFIs). The bank has identified 12 MFIs in the last year-and-a-half. "Six more are in the pipeline," its Vice-President and Head (Micro-Finance), India, Ms Moumita Sen Sharma, told Business Line.

Even while stating that micro-finance partners were not difficult to find, Ms Sharma said the evaluation norms were rather stringent. "We have narrowed down on six MFIs. The process of due diligence is now on." Reverting to the existing partners, she said most were from the South. Almost 40 per cent of the borrowers invested in livestock.
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