(Alliance News) - International Personal Finance PLC on Friday hailed its better-than-expected collection levels over December.
The Leeds, England-based provider of home credit, and owner of fintech business IPF Digital, said it delivered collections effectiveness throughout December at 96% of pre-Covid expectations, down slightly from 97% in November.
"We are encouraged that the modest reduction in collections effectiveness we expected during Q4 did not materialise, but we continue to plan for a softening in performance in Q1 2021," the company added.
During December, IPF said its credit issued went up four percentage points to 65% of pre-Covid expectations, supported by the company "responsibly" serving customers during its seasonal peak. It said it will continue to "progressively relax credit settings while maintaining a clear focus on portfolio quality and the macroeconomic effects of the pandemic."
The company said in November that the Polish government had proposed to extend the temporarily reduced cap on non-interest costs of consumer credit from March 8 until December 31 following its actions earlier in 2020 in response to the pandemic. The proposals would only impact new lending.
During a parliamentary session held on Thursday, an amendment to shorten the proposed extension until June 30 was "overwhelmingly" approved by members, and the proposed law now awaits the Polish president's signature. IPF expects the new law to become effective in the coming weeks.
"We delivered another robust trading performance in December, a testament to how well our colleagues have adapted to serving our customers amid the challenges posed by the pandemic. It is disappointing that the temporary rate cap in Poland has been extended, but as we have demonstrated throughout the pandemic, we have an extremely resilient business model, and will continue our journey to rebuild our business in 2021 by lending responsibly to underbanked and underserved customers, and in turn deliver long-term growth and value to all our stakeholders," said Chief Executive Gerard Ryan.
IPF plans to publish its full-year results, which will include an assessment of the potential impact of the extension on future lending and profitability, on March 3.
Shares in International Personal Finance were down 4.8% at 75.90 pence each in London on Friday morning.
By Zoe Wickens; zoewickens@alliancenews.com
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Inter. Pers. (IPF)