Dan Ostahie, the majority shareholder of electrical and IT retailer Altex, plans to consolidate the company's position on the non-bank financial sector through Credex by launching a "Personal Loan" product. Until the launch of the product, Credex was only offering funding for the acquisition of home appliances from Altex and Media Galaxy stores.
"It is a natural step in the development of the company that will offer clients loans for other purposes. We are also considering other financing products that will turn Credex into a credit shop," Ostahie stated. The consumer finance company Credex is controlled by Altex and by Raiffeisen Bank.
The company's customer pool will mainly consist of Altex customers, with Credex set to take advantage of the traffic of the home appliances stores through its offices. Credex network currently comprises approximately 85 offices installed in Altex and Media Galaxy stores. Representatives for the company estimated the number of "Personal Loan" clients would reach approximately 10,000.
Dragos Sarbu, Credex's general manager says the company will develop its operations on the consumer finance segment, which is one of the most dynamic on the market by launching new products until the end of the year and also by expanding the network.
After the "Personal Loan", whose APR is 25.3% calculated for 60 months and a borrowed sum of no more than 18,000 RON, Credex intends to introduce its own credit card, which customers will only be able to use at Raiffeisen ATMs.
"We are considering issuing cards to our customers, to which a Credex account will be associated soon," Ostahie said. Issuing credit cards for customers also means linking them to the company's portfolio and, as such, the promotion of new products becomes easier. "After the consumer loan, which is one of the best ways to take advantage of market opportunities, the credit card has similar potential. It has the advantage of generating long-standing clients," Dragos Sarbu said. In terms of the number of loans granted and their value, Credex estimates it ranks fourth on the market of credit brokerage companies, after Cetelem, which granted loans worth 226 million euros last year, GE Money and BRD Finance. Credex brokered 71 million euros worth of loans last year, and set a target of 110 million euros and a volume of 180,000 loans for this year.
Besides new lending products and credit cards, company officials said they were also pursuing development of insurance products. "In two or three months, we will introduce insurance for default risk, which will insure a customer's failure to pay in certain cases," Sarbu said. The strategy to develop the consumer finance company will also be implemented through partnerships with DIY, interior decoration and furniture stores, and even travel agencies.
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