Patria Credit IFN SA, one of the leading non-bank financial institutions dedicated to financing agricultural producers and small entrepreneurs in rural areas, announces financial results above expectations for 2018: profit for the fifth consecutive year and îin increase compared to the previous year, consolidation and growth of the customer portfolio, îin proportion of approximately 90% in rural areas.
Patria Credit IFN SA, one of the leading non-bank financial institutions dedicated to financing agricultural producers and small entrepreneurs in rural areas, announces financial results above expectations for 2018: profit for the fifth consecutive year and îin increase compared to the previous year, consolidation and growth of the customer portfolio, îin proportion of approximately 90% in rural areas.
„Consistency and determination to stand by agricultural producers and rural entrepreneurs, as well as the launch of new projects and programmes, such as the rural micro-franchise programme, aimed at the development of local communities, are the pillars that determine the positive course of Patria Credit IFN SA. Our business model is different, we finance the people behind small businesses and take into account the specifics of the culture, seasonality, the general context of the household, aspects that go beyond the figures on a balance sheet. We offer confidence through a team of professionals with a lot of experience in the field and consolidated over time and we have been present for years in areas such as Matca, Izbiceni, Târgu Frumos, Moțăței and many other communes and localities nationwide. In each of these communities we receive trust from our customers, who have been with us for many years, which is reflected in their payment behaviour. Microfinance in these areas requires patience, but as you can see, the results are not slow in coming.Says Raluca Andreica, Managing Director of Patria Credit.
The net profit of Patria Credit IFN SA în 2018 is estimated at almost 900,000 Euro and the loan portfolio is în increase of more than 25% compared to last year. The profile of clients in the portfolio reconfirms the institution's orientation towards supporting small farmers, especially in the large vegetable basins, clients who have contracted loans of up to 15,000 Euro (RON equivalent), mainly to support investments in agriculture.
One of Patria Credit's major projects in 2018 was the launch of local franchise partnerships: “There is huge potential locally for the development of small producers. We have seen this în the Patria Credit rural micro-franchise project, where those with an entrepreneurial spirit have taken the step of opening a point of work îin partnership with us through which they can offer support to clients in the businesses they have already developed or to those in the community.”,adds Raluca Andreica, General Manager Patria Credit IFN
Among the actions în undertaken în 2018 în supporting the development of agriculture în the local rural environment, financial education projects also played an important role, actions such as Bank to Market and International Microfinance Day, through which the institution's representatives are with clients and potential clients where they need them.
The positive evolution of Patria Credit IFN SA is an example of good practice îin the field of microfinance even at the European level, Patria Credit being an active member îin the most important organizations that promote and develop microfinance at the European and worldwide level, such as the European Microfinance Network (EMN) and the Microfinance Centre (MFC).
For 2019, Patria Credit aims to continue to make a difference in rural areas, provide financial advice to agricultural producers and stimulate the development of local entrepreneurship by expanding franchise partnerships.