Commercial credit portfolio of MSMEs grew 13%: report

Commercial credit for MSME sector grows 13% YoY, with improved delinquency rates and regional dominance, says MSME Pulse Report
| Photo Credit: Siva Saravanan S

The commercial credit portfolio for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector grew 13% year-over-year (YoY) as the overall credit exposure increased to ₹35.2 lakh crore as of March 31, 2025, according to TransUnion CIBIL and SIDBI’s MSME Pulse Report for May 2025.

This trend was largely driven by an increase in credit supply to existing borrowers, the report said.

Overall MSME balance-level delinquencies improved to 1.8%, a 35 basis points drop from 2.1% in March 2024, primarily driven by the borrower segment with exposure of ₹50 lakh to ₹50 crore. The borrower segment with exposure up to ₹10 lakh, however, witnessed a slight deterioration at 5.8% in March 2025 compared to 5.1% in March 2024. Similarly, the borrower segment with exposure from ₹10 lakh to ₹50 lakh also saw a marginal rise in the delinquency level to 2.9% as compared to 2.8% in March last year.

While the share of New-to-Credit (NTC) MSME borrowers to total new loan originations continued to be strong at 47% as of March 2025, it was lower than the share of 51% one year back.

The report added that the trade sector contributed the greatest proportion of NTC borrowers at 53%, while the manufacturing sector saw the highest YoY growth (70%) in the number of NTC borrowers originating a commercial loan.

Four states dominate commercial lending

Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi continued to dominate commercial lending, together accounting for 48% of the value of overall originations in the quarter ending March 2025. While the manufacturing sector had the greatest share of originations in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Delhi, Uttar Pradesh had the most originations to the trade sector.

Manoj Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) said that though the credit flow to the MSME sector has improved over the years, it still has an addressable credit gap.

According to Bhavesh Jain, MD and CEO, TransUnion CIBIL, “For MSMEs to achieve sustainable growth, it is imperative that they receive assistance in accessing formal credit and guidance in debt management.”