Creditinfo sees turnover up six times

Creditinfo, the first private company that checks consumer loan application files, in 2005 registered turnover worth 1.6 million euros, almost six times bigger year-on-year. Net income rose from 22,000 euros in 2004 to almost 280,000 euros last year.

The increase is due to the almost two million credit files that were transferred to Creditinfo”s system over the two years during which the credit office has been operational.

Creditinfo was founded in 2000, and until 2004 mostly drew up creditworthiness reports for legal entities and carried out activities related to debt collection.

Prompted by rising sales in the sector of electronics and electrical home appliances starting with 2003, when the market surged by 70%, Creditinfo decided to set up the first private credit office in Romania, according to the company”s marketing manager, Mihail Buraga.

Delos Holding, headquartered in Cyprus, the former majority shareholder, exited the company at the end of last year, and the majority stake was taken over by Creditinfo International Group Icelandic company, which raised its interest from 28% to 65%.

The Icelandic group, also holding subsidiaries in the Czech Republic, Greece, Lithuania and Cyprus, ranks 103rd in Europe”s 500 for last year. Creditinfo Group took up the current name in 2003 from its Romanian subsidiary, states Buraga.

The Icelandic company was created in 1997 under the name of Lanstraust and secured a foothold of the local financial information market from the very beginning.

“The acquisition of the majority stake by Creditinfo International Group brought along the expertise needed for the diversification of the credit office”s services,” maintains Elena Mirea, general manager of Creditinfo.

The idea behind the setting up of the office is that information must be checked before loans are granted, states Buraga. Delos Creditinfo, as it was called at that time, decided to become a partner of companies granting consumer loans.

The firm in 2004 strengthened its ties with Fasma Romania, which provided the technical platform, and started collecting financial information from official and private sources. Currently, Creditinfo”s databases include information about 800,000 Romanian companies and on more than three million individuals.

The company signed its first contract with Euroline Retail Service, a member of EFG Eurobank banking group, the majority shareholder of BancPost, and subsequently sealed contracts with other financial companies such as Finans Servicii Financiare or Libra Bank.

Creditinfo offers a service outsourcing programme due to which “financial institutions work with us over a set period, without being concerned at the time the contract ends about restructuring or other obligations,” states Buraga. cristi.moga@zf.ro