Patria Credit, 2022 results: +22% growth in loan portfolio, profit of €1.55 million and proven social impact
20.03.2023
Patria Credit, 2022 results: +22% growth in loan portfolio, profit of €1.55 million and proven social impact
Bucharest, 30th of March. Patria Credit IFN SA, non-bank financial institution part of Patria Bank Group, recorded a net profit of €1.55 million in 2022 and reported a portfolio growth of +22% to a value of €32.5 million.
Among local non banking financial institutions, Patria Credit is the largest financier of small farms, under 10 ha, in rural areas, with over 74% of micro loans granted being offered with a European guarantee, through its strategic partnership with the European Investment Fund and the EaSI and InvestEU programmes.
The institution's most clients continue to be in 2022 from Muntenia (58.5%), the main vegetable basin. An increase of +5% percentage points in the number of clients was recorded in the Moldova area.
The largest share of clients continues to be farmers, 83% of total clients, with the small business and trade segments registering a cumulative increase of 5%, compared to 2021, amidst increased demand for financing from small rural non-agro businesses.
The average value of granted loan increased by EUR 1,000 to EUR 11,817, RON equivalent, amidst an increase in the number of large loans above EUR 25,000 to 32.6%, up from 23.1% in 2021. At the same time, farmers and small entrepreneurs increased the value of investments made in 2022, with investments being the most important destination of financing offered by Patria Credit (88.3% of the total).
Loans with a European guarantee continue to be the most sought-after products
"There are 7 years of constant growth: of the portfolio, double-digit growth even, of the sales volume, of the number of clients and a very solid profit of €1.55 million in the last year (2022), at a very good portfolio quality. All this is the result of our focus on being the best option for small farms, our strategic partnerships with European institutions and our dedication to making a real contribution to increasing financial inclusion," says Raluca Andreica, CEO of Patria Credit. "Thus, with a clear direction, solid business fundamentals and openness to finance farmers and small businesses that do not have access to traditional bank financing, we have managed to bring over €86.8 million to small rural communities in the last 7 years."
The largest part of the loan portfolio is EaSI, a loan guaranteed by the European Union, an instrument that from 2022 has been replaced by InvestEU, which brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments currently available to support investment in EU member countries. The new programme has also increased the amount that farmers and small businesses can access, up to €50,000 (RON 240,000 equivalent), with significant volumes of loans already registered under the new product, over €7.1 million.
The quality of the portfolio also contributed to Patria Credit's 2022 result. Outstanding loans over 30 days past due represented just over 3.6% of Patria Credit's total portfolio (4.02% as at 31 December 2021), as a result of the continuous focus on optimising the collection processes of outstanding loans but also of the pro-active approach in the lending policy.
"We are also pleased that last year we succeeded together with Patria Credit Foundation to conduct the first study on the social impact of microfinance. After an in-depth analysis of the 10-year evolution of key socio-economic indicators in three rural and small urban communities, where we have financed a considerable number of clients, we can confirm with additional data that microfinance contributes to the progress and prosperity of rural farming families." Raluca Andreica added.
More, in 2022, after the pilot project of digitization for the benefit of vegetable producers, consisting in the installation of equipments to collect agro-meteorological parameters in vegetable crops, in order to simplify the management of production cycles, the control of environmental factors and stress or risk factors for crops, Patria Credit launched the Intelligent Farm program. Through this program, any farmer can access a preferential offer for the Enten solution, a local agritech partner, and thus adopt the best decisions to increase agricultural yields, reduce production costs and be more resilient to the challenges brought by climate change.
In 2023, new inclusion projects, digitisation and network expansion
For the current year, Patria Credit is preparing to launch its new IT architecture, which will allow for significant optimizations in the process of enrolling new clients, operational efficiencies, easier integration with development partners and, most importantly for clients, rapid loan approval in less than 48 hours.
Patria Credit will continue the process of consolidating its network of units after opening two new units in 2022 in Buzău and Reșița.
Moreover, following its mission as a promoter and contributor to the financial and economic inclusion of small entrepreneurs, at the beginning of 2023, Patria Credit signed with REDI Development Fund a unique local partnership to finance Roma entrepreneurs, mainly farmers, in small rural communities in the country. Through this partnership, businesses run by Roma citizens and local businesses employing Roma workers will be financed, with the dedicated programme being "Microfinance has no ethnicity".
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About Patria Credit IFN
Patria Credit IFN SA is a non-bank financial institution (NFI) that supports the efforts of small farmers and entrepreneurs and their positive impact on rural communities. Specialising in farmer finance, Patria Credit is a member of the European Microfinance Network (EMN) and Microfinance Centre (MFC) and the first non-bank financial institution dedicated to microfinance in Romania, with almost 20 years of experience and more than 18,000 clients financed. Patria Credit's history began in 1996, initially as a programme of World Vision, later evolving into a foundation and then an NFI. Today, Patria Credit IFN's activity is recognized by the European Code of Good Conduct initiated by the Directorate for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the European Commission, for the quality and impact of the microfinance activity carried out in Romania. Part of the Patria Bank Group, Patria Credit IFN is involved in projects to support agriculture, develop rural areas and support the transition of small farmers to sustainable agriculture (Intelligent Farm Programme).