Lenders sold 61,262 files to debt collection companies in the first eight months of 2009, worth a total €364.3 million. Moreover, collectors purchased receivables from telecommunication operators, insurance, and utility companies. For a total of almost 213,000 files, collection companies paid €393.9 mln.
Compared to the corresponding period in 2008, the value of receivables acquired by collection companies surged 340 percent, from €89.55 mln, while the number of files rose by a mere 15 percent.
The data centralized by Coface indicates that the banking sector is the champion of receivable sales in the first eight months, with a value of debts taken over by collection companies of €364.3 mln. Telecom operators assigned debts worth €20.8 mln in the analyzed period, while insurance companies sold receivables worth €5.77 mln.
The largest collection companies in Romania include Coface, EOS KSI, KRUK International, Credit Express, and Top Factoring.
