Home Credit B.V. is an international

non-bank financial institution A non-banking financial institution (NBFI) or non-bank financial company (NBFC) is a financial institution that is not legally a bank; it does not have a full banking license or is not supervised by a national or international banking regulator ...

founded in 1997 in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and headquartered in

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The company operates in 9 countries and focuses on installment lending primarily to people with little or no credit history. As of 30 June 2020 the Group has cumulatively served over 135.4 million customers. Major shareholder of the Group is PPF, a privately held international investment group whose founder and major beneficiary was

Petr Kellner Petr Kellner (20 May 1964 – 27 March 2021) was a Czech billionaire entrepreneur, the founder and majority shareholder (98.93%) of the PPF Group. At the time of his death, he had an estimated net worth of $17.5 billion, making him the wealthi ...

with 88.62% stake. The Home Credit loan can be obtained from throughout 342.7 thousands partnering retail shops and shopping malls in ten world markets as well as at the Home Credit's own online marketplaces (

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

). Home Credit is also presented online in its own mobile application or in a third-party online stores. In selected markets you can pay with a „HC Pay“, a QR code-based revolving credit or with Home Credit credit or shopping cards. Home Credit finances both the purchase of consumer goods through a cash-less loan transaction or other commodities, such as language courses, travel etc. through a cash loans. The loans are always issued in domestic currency of the market in which the brand operates.

History

In 1997, Home Credit a.s. was founded in the Czech Republic and in 1999, the company expanded to

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. In 2000s company started to expand to

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

countries -

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. As of 2007 the company was the second largest consumer lender in

. In 2010s company expanded to

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, specifically

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

. In 2010 the company was the first foreign company to set up as a consumer finance lender in China. In 2015 Home Credit Group launched its operations in the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

through a partnership with

Sprint Corporation Sprint Corporation was an American telecommunications company. Before being acquired by T-Mobile US on April 1, 2020, it was the fourth-largest mobile network operator in the United States, serving 54.3 million customers as of June 30, 2019. Th ...

. The group offers loans in 434,232 retail stores and also in digital space. In 2017 PAG initiated investment of 2 billion RMB into Home Credit Group's Chinese business entity as an interest-bearing convertible loan. The deal was subsequently terminated in 2018 by PAG and Home Credit Group repaid the loan with interest. In 2018 Home Credit Group initiated sale of its Czech operation consisting of Home Credit Czech and Slovak and Air Bank to Moneta Money Bank. The deal was criticized as one-sided deal that gives Home Credit's subsidiaries unusually high valuation with unusual terms of the deal that would lead to renaming of Moneta Bank to Air Bank. The criticism was strengthened also because of Moneta Chief Executive Tomas Spurny being historically connected to Home Credit Group majority shareholder PPF Group. In February 2019, Moneta based on feedback from its shareholders revised offer with lower valuation. In October 2019, Home Credit India has tied up with The Karur Vysya Bank Ltd, a commercial bank having its head office at Karur, Tamil Nadu, India for joint lending. In 2019, the company was preparing IPO in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, however it was scrapped after investors estimated the value between 5 and 7.5 billion euros, whereas shareholders were targeting market capitalization of 10 billion euros.

Home Credit China

Home Credit entered China in 2007 and applied for a pilot consumer finance license in 2010. Home Credit was asked by Chinese officials to help improve relationship between China and the Czech Republic in order to receive full license. Since 2010, Home Credit's parent company PPF helped swing anti-communist international relations sentiment towards strong China ally. In 2014, PPF helped arrange visit of the Czech president

Miloš Zeman Miloš Zeman (; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician who served as the third president of the Czech Republic from 2013 to 2023. He also previously served as the prime minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. As leader of the Cze ...

to China and subsequently helped pay for private plane for the return trip. The company in 2014 also received nation-wide license for consumer finance lending. In 2016, the company CEO Jiří Šmejc claimed to be proud of the impact on the revival of Czech-Chinese relations. Home Credit funded a newly formed think tank, Sinoskop, to counter a longer-established China-watching body, Sinopsis.

Criticism

In 2019, it was uncovered that Home Credit paid public relations company to influence public opinion in the Czech Republic about China. Home Credit did hire an agency called C&B Reputation Management, which did marketing for Home Credit. It was also supposed to improve the Czech view of the Chinese communist regime.

Home Credit Philippines

Home Credit Philippines is a consumer finance provider. The company operates in the Philippines as a subsidiary of Home Credit Group.

Home Credit Vietnam

Home Credit Vietnam was founded in 2008. Over the past 15 years, Home Credit has expanded its network throughout the country, serving over 15 million customers. According to the 2022 financial report, Home Credit Vietnam's revenue reached VND 1,189 trillion, nearly double that of 2021. ROE reached 18.64%, a significant increase from 10.6% in 2021. However, the 30-day payment capacity ratio in USD was negative 960.25%, while the legal requirement for this ratio is at least 5%. The short-term capital to medium-long term loan ratio increased from negative 7.03% at the end of 2021 to 14.29%.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.homecredit.net/ Financial services companies established in 1997 Financial services companies of the Czech Republic Companies based in Amsterdam PPF Group