Intl Personal Finance collections up as Covd-19 lockdowns ease

Doorstep lender International Personal Finance reported an improvement in collections as coronavirus lockdown measures eased in Europe and Mexico.

The company on Wednesday said said collections improved to 80% of pre-Covid levels in May, compared with April's 76%, driven largely by European home credit where there was an increase in the proportion of agents visiting customers and alternative repayment options were implemented.

“We expect collections effectiveness to progressively improve in the coming months due to the easing of lockdown restrictions in most of our markets,” IPF said in a statement.

Credit issuance in April and May was restricted to 30% of IPF's original 2020 budget as it maintained tighter credit settings to protect credit quality and manage cashflow.

“In the near-term, our focus for new lending will continue to be on our loyal customers who have strong credit quality characteristics. We expect volumes to increase moderately in June as lockdown restrictions are eased and our collections performance continues to improve.”

Improving collections, cost cuts and effective management of sales volumes resulted in robust net cash flow generation in May of £43m. Cash and headroom on undrawn debt facilities was £223m at the end of May.

IPF said it had repaid £44m million in sterling bonds and £40m in Polish bonds and was now focusing on the need to refinance its €406mn Eurobond, which matures April 2021.