(Alliance News) - International Personal Finance PLC on Monday said it would delay release of its annual results to assess the impact of a change to how the credit card industry is regulated in Poland.
The Leeds, England-based company, which offers unsecured consumer credit in nine countries, said Provident Polska, the group's Polish business, had received a regulatory communication from Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego, the Polish financial supervision authority.
The letter details the KNF's views on how existing laws and regulations relating to non-interest fees should be interpreted by credit card issuers.
Shares in International Personal Finance were down 7.4% to 109.70 pence in London early on Monday.
International Personal Finance said it was considering the potential impact on the performance of Provident Polska and whether this needs to be considered in finalising 2023 results.
International Personal Finance said it understood that the letter was provided to all regulated lenders operating in the Polish credit card market.
International Personal Finance said it was taking legal advice to assess the impact of this sector-wide communication, and whether it constitutes a significant change to the existing approach taken by the KNF.
"The group considers it prudent to take the time to understand the contents of the communication fully, and this work is expected to take around a week to complete, following which the results will be released", the company said in a statement.
The Polish credit card receivables represent just over 5% of the group's receivables and around 25% of overall receivables in Poland, International Personal Finance pointed out.
The company stressed the Polish operation has "an excellent track record "of adapting to the evolving regulatory environment".
International Personal Finance said its annual results will reflect a stronger-than-expected trading performance in 2023 and noted this momentum has continued in early 2024.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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Inter. Pers. (IPF)