Non-banking sector results in 2017
The non-banking sector is particularly worth discussing because of the scale at which it has managed to conquer the Polish market. In the previous year, lending institutions served a total of as many as 1.5 million consumers. This is a tremendous success and the best result since these companies began operating in our country.
The total amount of non-bank loans granted exceeds PLN 2 billion. This sector has become serious competition for bank loans of no more than PLN 4,000. The advantage of non-bank lenders is their lending system, which takes place entirely online. In addition, the requirements imposed on customers are less strict, and applications and the required documents are analyzed very quickly.
By submitting an online application from your sofa, without leaving home, you can have the money in your account in less than an hour. Repayment usually falls due 30–60 days after the agreement is concluded, which is not possible with any bank or SKOK.
What do lending institutions offer?
Data collected by the e-busines.info.pl service confirmed that short-term loans of up to PLN 1,000 are the most popular. Usually, the first loan for a new customer does not exceed PLN 2,000–3,000. Each subsequent loan taken out and successfully repaid increases the maximum amount, which can reach as much as PLN 7,000 for short-term payday loans.
Interestingly, many lending companies provide new customers with interest-free loans, which is not possible at a bank under the applicable legislation. If repaid on time, these loans genuinely cost nothing, so the customer returns exactly what they borrowed.
Long-term installment loans are also highly valued by customers. They are granted for much larger amounts than payday loans, but the repayment period is also considerably longer. Today, approximately one-fifth of consumers in the non-banking sector choose this option.
A less well-known and less frequently chosen option is a loan secured against a car. For now, only a few companies offer this type of service. The rules are very simple. Customers who own a car can take out a loan secured by the vehicle. The company appraises it and generally grants a loan not exceeding 80% of the car’s value. The car remains at the customer’s disposal, and the only difference for the driver is that a new co-owner of the car is entered on the registration certificate.
Responsibilities of a lending institution
Every lending company must comply with the rules set out in the Consumer Credit Act and the Act on Supervision of the Financial Market. Particularly important are the obligations concerning the manner in which services are provided, informing consumers about their rights and obligations, providing information about fees, and complying with strictly defined thresholds for calculating loan costs and collection costs.
No less important is protecting the consumer’s data and financial situation, specifically avoiding contributing to excessive indebtedness. This issue is significant from the standpoint of the Act itself, which requires a lending institution to assess creditworthiness. It should also be remembered that an over-indebted customer is insolvent, which may result in the loss of the money lent; preventing this should therefore be in the lender’s interest.
A rather interesting obligation that lending institutions will soon be required to fulfill is reporting consumers’ liabilities. In other words, every company must send information about the timeliness of a customer’s loan repayments to business information bureaus in order to strengthen the exchange of data about debtors.