Business Report has an article taking on the bad eggs in the microlending industry.

“The National Credit Regulator (NCR) would not back down in protecting consumers against reckless lenders in the R22.9 billion microfinance industry, it said last week, adding that it had referred 62 microlenders for prosecution in the criminal courts.

Since 2000 a total of 655 investigations on registered lenders have been concluded and 162 companies have been disciplined, with R955 600 levied in fines, according to the regulator’s investigation and prosecution statistics.

Of the unregistered lenders that have been investigated, 291 have been referred for prosecution since 2003, with 62 prosecuted in criminal courts.

Jan Augustyn, the manager of investigations and prosecutions at the NCR, said the majority of the cases involved lack of disclosure and the use of unorthodox collection methods.”