Debt collector inundated with work

  • 2008-03-19
  • From wire reports
RIGA - Latvia's debt collection company has seen a sharp increase in the number of debt collection cases in the first two months of the year.
The number of cases submitted for debt collection increased by 50 percent year-on-year, signifying that more people are running into problems meeting loan repayment and other payments, Maris Baidekalns, the board member of Creditreform Latvia.

In all, Creditreform Latvija has taken over more than 125,000 cases of delayed payments, Baidekalns told the Baltic News Service. 
"On the one hand, loan payments have increased and the number of delayed payments is increasing as well," said Baideklans. "On the other hand, a considerable salary rise is observed both in the public and private sector."
The head of Latvia's Financial and Capital Markets Commission said earlier that the rate of bad debts in Latvia will increase along with the economic development of Latvia, while still remaining low in comparison to other EU member states.
This, in turn, will force banks to be more circumspect in giving out loans.

"Creditors are more scrupulous in assessing and analyzing the lending history of their customers, and in cases where there is negative information they deny loans or services," Baidekalns said.
Lending information and debt collection company Creditreform Latvia was founded in 1995 as a subsidiary of Creditreform company union. Creditreform includes 172 offices in different European countries.

Creditreform union was founded in 1879 in Germany.