ING Commercial Finance, the specialised factoring service division of the ING Group, will mainly target small entrepreneurs and focus on domestic factoring, Richard Lublinski, general manager of the company told ZIARUL FINANCIAR.
At present, ING Commercial Finance is undertaking the final steps of its registration as a non-banking financial institution (IFN) under the new regulations of the NBR, and will start operating next month.
Lublinski, 43, says the factoring market holds significant growth potential, considering most small and medium-sized enterprises are having trouble securing funding.
"Our target is to attract 30% of the market by the end of 2007. We will have 20 employees and 100 to 200 customers by then," says Lublinski. He estimates the market will reach 1 to 1.1 billion euros by the end of next year.
The factoring market stood at 550 million euros at the end of 2005, according to Factors Chain International (FCI), one of the largest specialised organisations in the world.
FCI has four members in Romania, BCR, BRD-SocGen, UniCredit and Compania de Factoring (Factoring Company) IFN, held by Banca Transilvania and Intermarket Bank, the largest Austrian company specialising in funding receivables.
Raiffeisen Bank, ABN Amro Bank and Romexterra sell factoring products.
"We want to finance small and medium-sized enterprises that have in their portfolio receivables maturing in 60 to 90 days, are experiencing cash flow problems and have trouble securing funding," explains Lublinski.
In its position as a non-banking financial institution, ING Commercial Finance will be able to build a risk profile different from that of a bank, which is subjected to stricter regulations, he says.
To sell the product, the company will rely on the wholesale network of ING, which will reach 25 units by the end of the year.
