Bond Collection Companies' Net Profit Increased by 98% Last Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyo-jin] The performance of debt collection companies improved significantly last year.

According to the '2019 Credit Information Company Business Performance' released by the Financial Supervisory Service on the 2nd, the net profit of 22 debt collection companies last year was 26.3 billion KRW, an increase of 13 billion KRW (97.7%) compared to 2018.

The overall performance of debt collection companies, including debt collection business, credit investigation business, and concurrent operations, improved, resulting in operating revenue (849.3 billion KRW) increasing by 60.2 billion KRW (7.6%).

The net profit of six credit inquiry companies last year was 77.2 billion KRW, up 3.7 billion KRW (5.0%) from the previous year. This was due to an increase in operating revenue by 67.9 billion KRW (11.5%) from the expansion of credit inquiry service customers and increased revenue from Technology Credit Bureau (TCB) operations.

As of the end of last year, there are 29 credit information companies in operation, including 22 debt collection companies, six credit inquiry companies, and one credit investigation company.

As of the end of last year, the total assets of credit information companies were 1.2576 trillion KRW, and equity capital was 902.8 billion KRW, increasing by 141.9 billion KRW (12.7%) and 67.8 billion KRW (8.1%), respectively, compared to the end of the previous year.

Last year's net profit was 103.8 billion KRW, an increase of 16.6 billion KRW (19.0%) compared to the previous year.

The 'Debt Collection and Loan Claim Sale Guidelines,' currently operated under administrative guidance, are set to expire this month. However, since the related legal amendment bill is under discussion in the National Assembly, the Financial Supervisory Service plans to extend the duration of the guidelines.

A Financial Supervisory Service official stated, "As the business environment is expected to deteriorate due to the spread of COVID-19, supervision will be strengthened against illegal and unfair debt collection practices targeting vulnerable borrowers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.