Lending will be boosted this year by the successive monetary policy rate cuts, as well as by the historical low interests for euros and lei, Kiwi representatives added.
“We expect a friendlier banks’ approach to lending, mainly for SMEs, which will be naturally followed by population. (…) We can see new investors and projects on the real estate market in the residential but also the commercial sector, and in the second half of last year, we noticed a modest revival of lending in the corporate zone of the real estate sector, but it was the first revival after 2008,” Anca Bidian, CEO Kiwi Finance, told a news conference.
Other factors to boost banking loans will be the country’s economic growth, the central bank’s messages to encourage lending, and the accessible financing in local currency for mortgage loans. At the same time, the monthly rent for an apartment is currently higher than a monthly installment for the same apartment.
Kiwi representatives also estimate a 15% increase in the personal loans demand compared with 2013.
The company targets a 30% increase in the brokered loans volume, to RON350 million, and a 15% market share hike, from 3.5%-4% of the total new lending market at the end of 2013.
Kiwi Finance brokered loans totaling RON270 million (EUR58 million) in 2013, up 36% on the year, out of which 70% were real estate-guaranteed loans. The company reported a turnover of RON5.68 million, up 43% on the year, and switched to a profit of almost RON500,000.
The number of clients rose by 55% last year, to 6,400, on the backdrop of network expansion and the banks’ higher lending appetite on one hand, and the clients’ buying intention, on the other hand.
Around 89% of clients accessing mortgage loans in 2013 preferred euros, while personal loans were 100% preferred in the local currency.
Kiwi Finance has 38 units countrywide. (EUR1=RON4.4916)