Rompetrol's financial services division invests 14m euros in more clients

IFN Fingroup Credit, the non-bank financial institution held by the petroleum group Rompetrol, will invest 20 million dollars (14 million euros) in the first half of this year in order to expand its portfolio with new clients and products, after granting credits worth 4.5 million euros last year. 2007 was the company’s first year on the local market. “Over the course of 2007, FinGroup Credit granted credits worth a total of around 4.5 million euros. FinGroup will continue to invest big sums to expand its client portfolio, with their value to reach around 20 million dollars (14 million euros) in the first six months of this year,” says Cristiana Niculescu, general manager of FinGroup Credit. Among the most important products launched by FinGroup Credit are the Fill & Go Credit card. Another service was the partnership with cosmetics company Oriflame, to launch a credit card, which could bring 3-5% to Oriflame’s turnover, which is worth 24 million euros a year. “The financial services market in Romania is still continuously growing, despite the restrictions imposed by the NBR (National Bank of Romania) and the increase in the reference rate. The appetite for lending products is still there, particularly for personal loans (…),” believes the FinGroup Credit representative.