Intl Personal Finance delays FY results, cites Polish regulatory issues

International Personal Finance cited regulatory issues in Poland as it delayed the release of its full-year results.

The company said that its Polish business - Provident Polska - had received a letter from Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego (KNF), the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, outlining its views on how existing laws and regulations relating to non-interest fees should be interpreted by credit card issuers.

"The group is considering the potential impact of the communication from the KNF on the performance of Provident Polska and whether this needs to be considered in finalising the group's 2023 year-end results," IPF said.

It said the letter was provided to all regulated lenders operating in the Polish credit card market. As a result, IPF is reviewing, with the assistance of external counsel, what the impact of this sector-wide communication might be and whether it constitutes a significant change to the existing approach taken by the KNF.

IPF said its year-end results reflect a stronger-than-expected trading performance in 2023 and that this momentum has continued in early 2024.

"The 2023 results will be deferred until the contents of the KNF letter can be considered fully by management and the audit process completed.

"As the letter was only received in the last few days, the group considers it prudent to take the time to understand the contents of the communication fully, and this work is expected to take around a week to complete, following which the results will be released."

IPF noted that Polish credit card receivables represent just over 5% of the group’s receivables and around 25% of overall receivables in Poland.