www.ipfin.co.uk Welcome to International Personal Finance
Welcome to International Personal Finance IPF is a leading international provider of consumer finance. Our business is built around a resilient business model that delivers sustainable profitability. We meet the needs of our customers by providing small, unsecured, short-term loans in an inclusive, transparent and responsible way. We are responding to changes in consumer demands by modernising the way we do business to make the most of new opportunities and ensure our offer remains relevant. Our Group head office is based in Leeds in the United Kingdom and we trade as Provident, Credit24, hapiloans and Sving in many countries around the world. This booklet is designed to give you more information about the IPF Group and explains how the business was started and the great progress we have made over several decades. Finland Estonia Latvia Lithuania Poland Spain Czech Republic Slovakia Hungary Romania Bulgaria Mexico Australia Home Credit Digital International Personal Finance plc Welcome booklet Home Credit and Digital
Our history IPF is a leading international provider of consumer credit and we have been in operation for more than 130 years. The business dates back to 1880 when it was founded in Bradford, England, by Joshua Kelley Waddilove. Joshua worked as an insurance agent and witnessed firsthand how many families struggled to pay for everyday essentials or larger purchases like furniture. His idea was to introduce a system of vouchers that could be exchanged in local shops and which would subsequently be paid back in affordable and small weekly repayments. The business flourished and by the time Joshua died in 1920 it had grown into a nationwide business. In 1962, Provident Clothing and Supply Co Ltd as it was then called floated on the London Stock Market under the new name of Provident Financial plc. Taking on the new name of International Personal Finance plc, the business incorporated Provident s operations in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Mexico these are the founding countries of the business you know as Provident today. In the UK our Group is known as IPF plc, but in our international markets we decided to keep the Provident name that our customers are so familiar with. As part of the demerger, IPF listed on the London Stock Market as International Personal Finance plc and moved to a new, purpose-built head office in the centre of Leeds, which is located in the north of England. In 2007, another major event in the company s history happened when the international division of the business demerged from the UK company. This was to support the accelerated growth and development of the international businesses. Joshua Waddilove Provident Clothing and Supply Co Ltd 02 03
Our business today In January 2012, with the arrival of Gerard Ryan, IPF s new Chief Executive Officer, a new business strategy was put in place to accelerate growth. This strategy is called Strategy for Growth (S4G) and it is a term you will likely become familiar with as you hear about our plans for the future. 2013 was a significant year for IPF because the business launched two new international markets: Lithuania and Bulgaria. Both countries benefited from using existing infrastructure in Poland and Romania to open quickly, and so far, we are delighted with how they have performed and made a difference to our customers lives. We also expanded into Mexico City, which with a population of over 20 million is an exciting opportunity for our Mexican business. 2014 was significant for IPF as we launched a new online loan business called hapiloans. Initially launched in Poland, this is our first remote lending product, which is a great addition to our home credit business. In February 2015 we completed our acquisition of MCB Finance - a profitable digital consumer finance business established in 2006. The acquisition of MCB Finance extends our geographic footprint into Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Australia and increases our presence in Lithuania with its Credit24 and Sving brands. We plan to establish digital businesses in each of our existing markets to serve customers who have an existing credit footprint and who are looking to secure fast, affordable, small-sum credit online and make monthly repayments through the banking system. Group statistics Profit before tax 123.5M Credit issued 1,022.0M Customers 2.6M Employees 8,260 Credit issued per customer 392 Agents 29,990 Revenue 783.2M Statistics as at December 2014. International Personal Finance plc Welcome booklet
Provident Home Credit Market statistics Poland/Lithuania Poland established: 1997 Lithuania established: 2013 Poland Country Manager: David Parkinson Lithuania General Manager: Maciej Krawczuk Customers: 848,000 Employees: 2,461 Agents: 9,250 Profit before tax: 71.0M Credit issued per customer: 441 Czech Republic/Slovakia Czech Republic established: 1997 Slovakia established: 2001 Czech Republic Country Manager: Petr Sastinsky Slovakia Country Manager: Ivo Kalik Customers: 360,000 Employees: 1,031 Agents: 3,990 Profit before tax: 24.3M Credit issued per customer: 529 Hungary Hungary established: 2001 Hungary Country Manager and leadership responsibility for Romania and Bulgaria: Botond Szirmak Customers: 326,000 Employees: 908 Agents: 2,720 Profit before tax: 24.0M Credit issued per customer: 438 Romania/Bulgaria Romania established: 2006 Bulgaria established: 2013 Romania Country Manager: Viktor Boczan Bulgarian General Manager: Attila Horváth Customers: 320,000 Employees: 1,011 Agents: 4,180 Profit before tax: 4.9M Credit issued per customer: 342 Mexico Mexico established: 2003 Country Manager: Robert Husband Customers: 786,000 Employees: 2,655 Agents: 9,850 Profit before tax: 16.5M Credit issued per customer: 272 Statistics as at December 2014. 04 05
Our business strategy Our business strategy is easy to understand because it is focused on delivering what our customers want in a way that suits them. Our growth strategy is focused around four key pillars: 1. 2. 3. 4. Expand our geographical footprint this can be in new markets or reaching national penetration in the markets where we do not currently cover the entire country. We are also open to buying businesses in our existing markets or new countries if it will accelerate the expansion of our geographical coverage. Improving customer engagement this is about improving the experience of our customers when they use our services. If we deliver for our customers and make it easy for them to apply for a loan and to make their repayments, then they are more likely to come back to us for subsequent loans when they need future access to credit. Develop a sales culture this part of the strategy is focused on recruiting the right type of people into the organisation and giving them the right development, recognition and reward. Efficient execution if we are to deliver for our customers and make a difference in their everyday lives, it is important that we do the basics well. So this part of the strategy is about having the right IT infrastructure in place and having strong credit controls so we know our customers can always comfortably manage their loan repayments. Expand footprint Existing Countries Organic / Acquisition New Country Greenfield / Acquisition Improve customer engagement Customer Acquisition Customer Experience Customer Retention Customer Profitability Develop sales culture Recruitment & Development Reward & Recognition Marketing Expertise Execution Transformation for Growth Smart Central Functions IT Enabling Strong Credit Control The efficient execution part of our strategy also includes our Transformation for Growth programme or T4G. This is about modernising our business so we can make the most of the opportunities facing the business and ensure we stay relevant and attractive to our customers. A big part of this is about utilising modern technology much more effectively so we can deliver for our customers in the way that is most convenient and attractive to them. This is a five year modernisation programme that will take the best from our past and merge it with the best of today s technology all for the benefit of our customers. The programme will also offer numerous career opportunities as we reshape and expand the business. International Personal Finance plc Welcome booklet
Here for the long term Korina Sughey Carvajal Luciano Agent, Mexico Diego Yair Martinez Grajeda Development Manager, Mexico JirÍ Astaloš, Development Manager - Czech Republic Lucie Seifertovã, Customer - Czech Republic Barbora Pletichovã, CSR Specialist - Czech Republic Delivering sustainable growth is critically important for IPF and we can only do this by being a trusted and responsible provider of consumer credit. The strong relationships that exist between our customers, agents and Development Managers is what makes us different from most other credit providers, and are key to good customer service, high retention and growth. These trusted relationships form the core of our business and help us to provide credit in a responsible, ethical and transparent way. way that is appreciated by all our stakeholders, in particular, local regulators, politicians, media and of course our shareholders. It is part of our core beliefs that at IPF we will always lend responsibly by understanding our customers circumstances and by offering products in a flexible, relevant and affordable way. Our values of being straightforward, respectful and responsible are well understood and practiced across the Group and our strong governance and focus on delivering for our customers helps us to manage our business in a 06 07
Some recent awards we are proud of In recent years IPF has won numerous awards in each of its markets. Receiving external recognition is important to us as it demonstrates our product and services are valued by our customers and they recognise the trust we have built in the communities we serve. FTSE4Good Top Employer and Workplace Award 2015 Excellence in Customer Service We are a responsible lender and this is recognised by our inclusion in the FTSE4Good index for the seventh year running. Our supersector score ranks us among the world s best financial services companies. Attracting the best talent and having engaged teams is crucial to achieving growth. We were recognised with a number of awards in Poland, Hungary and Mexico for providing excellent working conditions, trustworthy leadership and development opportunities. Continually offering a high level of service helps us attract and retain good-quality customers. Provident in Hungary won the Excellence in Customer Service Award 2014 in both the personal service and call centre categories following mystery shopping sessions and customer interviews. ifs Proshare Good Corporate Citizen Golden Purse Award 2014 We want our employees to benefit from their contribution to the success of the business. Our International Have Your Share plan was commended for the most effective communication of an employee share scheme and has attracted 2,900 employees to date. In Poland we won the Silver leaf award for our sustainability strategy, recognising high levels of corporate governance, human rights, behaviour towards employees, the environment and customer care. In Mexico we were recognised as a socially responsible company by the Mexican Centre of Philanthropy for the ninth year running. Our business in the Czech Republic was named Best Credit Company 2014 at the Golden Purse Awards. Voted exclusively by the general public, it was ranked highest in respect to customer service, simplicity and price. International Personal Finance plc Welcome booklet
Our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Today, IPF is led by Gerard Ryan, Chief Executive Officer. Gerard joined the Board of IPF plc in January 2012 and became Chief Executive Officer at the beginning of April 2012. Gerard previously worked for a number of banks including Garanti Bank in Turkey and GE Money Bank in Prague. The Chairman of IPF s Board is Dan O Connor. Dan joined the Board of IPF as a non-executive director in January 2015. He was appointed Chairman of the Board in April 2015. Dan was previously Executive Chairman of Allied Irish Banks plc and he spent 10 years as CEO of GE Consumer Finance Europe. 08 09
The role of our head office As you are probably aware, we do not have any customers in the UK and therefore you may ask why do we have a head office in the UK? Historically our roots were in the north of England and following the demerger from Provident Financial Group in 2007 it was logical to establish ourselves close to our former company so there would be limited disruption for our UK-based employees. Today, it is still advantageous to operate from Leeds in the UK. We are a UK-listed business on the London Stock Exchange and the UK is an attractive and competitive home for international businesses, providing good access to shareholders and financial institutions that provide us with funding for our business. Our head office team in Leeds plays a critical role in the success of our business; it sets the business strategy and ensures the markets have the right infrastructure in place to execute the strategy in an effective and efficient way. We commonly refer to Leeds as a smart central function and many of the Group s core functions like Treasury, Finance, Compliance and Risk, Field Performance and Development, International Programmes, Marketing, Corporate Affairs, to name but a few, have experienced teams based in our Leeds head office. International Personal Finance plc Welcome booklet
We hope this booklet has given you a valuable insight into IPF and that it will help you to understand what we do, how we do it and what is important to us. Welcome to International Personal Finance, a leading international provider of consumer credit. For more information about IPF contact: Nick Jones Head of Communications nick.jones@ipfin.co.uk T: +44 (0)113 285 6815 10 11
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