This update of CGAP’s 2008 “Notes on Regulation of Branchless Banking in India” incorporates research conducted by CGAP in January 2010.

The crisis that erupted in the Indian State of Andhra Pradesh in early October 2010 hit at the epicenter of microfinance in India and has implications there, across the country, and globally.

Rapid expansion in the microfinance sector has been credited with advancing financial inclusion in India. This paper addresses what might constitute a loan mis-sale and seeks to inform the use of suitability guidelines for lending to low-income households by microfinance institutions, self-help groups, and various banks.