Debt outsourcing down by almost a third, while debt collection rises in Romania

The debt outsourcing market went down last year by over a quarter compared to 2013, reaching EUR 1.25 billion in Romania. Meanwhile, the value of collected debts rose by 24%, to EUR 475 million, according to the Association for the Management of Commercial Debt (AMCC). Debt outsourcing dropped by 12% between 2011 and 2014. Outsourced individual debt totaled last year EUR 1 billion, or some 5.24 million cases. The number of cases was up 7.4%, but their value dropped from EUR 1.65 billion the year before. Meanwhile, only EUR 169 million in corporate debt was outsourced. The average value of a debt went down from EUR 338 to EUR 207. The debt outsourcing market is made of domestic consumer debt, domestic purchased debt, and international consumer debt. "The debt collection market in Romania is a dynamic and competitive market. We currently see a slight increase in the industry thanks to the banks' recent tendency to sell non-performing loan packages to stimulate lending to individuals. Debt collection companies in Romania stay focused on the amicable collection stage, and communication by written messages via post continues to be the most used debt collection method in Romania," said Georg Kovacs, president of AMCC. The association was created in 2007, and brings together 15 members, which are the most important players on the debt collection market in Romania. They include Coface, CreditReform, EOS KSI, Kredyt Inkaso, Kruk Romania, among others. editor@romania-insider.com