Credex, the firm controlled by Dan Ostahie together withRaiffeisen Bank, no longer has the right to grant consumer loans onits own behalf, after the national bank on Friday struck it offfrom the financial institutions' registry.
However, Ostahie, who is also Credex's manager, maintains thefirm has not cut down its product and services portfolio.
Besides Credex, UniCredit Consumer Financing, the consumerfinance company of UniCredit Tiriac Bank, and EFG Retail Services,the specialised firm of Bancpost, also grant financing in thestores of Altex group owned by Ostahie.
According to banking sources, Credex shareholders decided toturn the company into a credit broker so that it may no longer beforced to fall into line with the NBR's capitalisation andprovisioning requirements for outstanding loans.
Ostahie speaks about a "reorganisation" due to be completed intwo or three weeks.
Altex owners stated Credex reorganisation was carried out duringlast year in parallel with that of Altex, so that credit officeswere closed in the locations where stores of the network were alsoclosed.
"We do not want to give up this business, which was carried outto meet lending demand".
Set up in 2005, Credex had been registered by the NBR in thegeneral registry of non-bank financial institutions in July 2007 asits core business was consumer loans.
If lending is no longer appealing because of the falling demand,Ostahie is considering a formula through which he may takeadvantage of the population's growing penchant for savings.
He really imagines people queuing up in front of Credex officesto deposit several hundred RON for interest rates of 15%. Ostahiedid not specify whether Credex offices would intermediate settingup deposits with Raiffeisen Bank or whether he planned to set upanother financial institution.
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