10th Dec 2015 16:27
LONDON (Alliance News) - International Personal Finance PLC on Thursday warned it could be hit by new legislation in Slovakia.
The lender's Slovak business generated a pretax profit of about GBP6.0 million on revenue of about GBP43.0 million in the 12 months ended June 30, at which point it had a net receivables balance also of GBP43.0 million.
International Personal Finance's update came one day after the Slovak parliament voted to adopt "previously undiscussed" proposals to amend various pieces of consumer legislation.
All of the MPs who voted in favour were from the ruling party, SMER, according to the company.
"IPF is reviewing the draft amendments to assess the extent to which its product structure would be affected by the proposed changes. Based on our current understanding, these changes would mean that all fees that IPF raises in connection with the issuance of a loan, including the fee for home service, would need to be levied at rates consistent with the remuneration cap," the company said in a statement.
International Personal Finance added that it is "very actively" reviewing the implications of the "unexpected" amendments.
"The draft law will now go to the prime minister for formal signature and then to the president for approval. The president is from the opposition party," the company said.
However, even if the president were to veto the legislation, it would likely be returned to a session of parliament in the opening quarter of 2016. If a majority were to again vote in favour of the legislation, there would be "no opportunity" for the president to veto it again.
"Our understanding is that the amended legislation would not have retroactive effect, but that it would apply prospectively in relation to loan agreements already in existence from the effective date of the amendments," the company said.
Shares in International Personal Finance were down 4.2% at 324.00 pence late Thursday afternoon.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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