Romanians who took non-guaranteed loans in 2008, when loans were very expensive are the one who struggle to keep up with monthly installments, according to Georg Kovacs, the general manager of EOS KSI Romania.

“Romanians are not bad payers, but they don't have money to pay. For a EUR 10,000 loan, having only EUR 50 available per month makes it hard to reimburse,” he said.

Kovacs believes banks will start selling non-performing loans guaranteed with mortgages in 2012, so debt collecting companies will start looking at such loans in the coming period.

The volumes of non-performing loans without guarantees will drop, as most of these loans were sold in 2009 and 2010. The debt collecting market in Romania stood at some EUR 45 million in 2010. EOS KSI is one of the players on this market.

editor@romania-insider.com