Boaje, Cetelem: We expect a 10% rise in loans granted in stores in December

Cetelem, the largest consumer finance company on the Romanian market, controlled by the French at BNP Paribas, expects a 10% rise in the volume of loans granted in stores in December, compared with the other months of the year. In-store loans for durable goods (home appliances, furniture etc.) and credit cards are the company's main lines of business. For retailers, as well as for financing companies, December is the best month, although sales will not be even remotely close to the level recorded in the years of economic boom. "In December we will definitely see in-store loans rise, by around 10%. We will also have promotional offers, we never stopped them. 20-25% of new credits granted are for promotional products," says Daniel Boaje, general manager of Cetelem. In the holiday season credit companies tend to launch promotional products, such as loans with ""zero interest" or several "instalments free of charge". "For in-store credits granted, September-December used to be the best time of the year, it was then that the bulk of the sales were made. For the last couple of years, however, this has started to change. In 2008 we recorded the biggest declines in November-December, because it is then that the crisis started to be felt strongly, but this year there has got to be a rise," says the head of Cetelem. The company has closed 30 in-store offices this year, 15% of the overall number, largely due to the closure of retailer stores. The number of loans granted by Cetelem this year is down 37% against 2008.