‘The bad debt problem is the most common one for a bank during an economic meltdown. It’s true that the amount of overdue debt on loan payments only tends to increase lately, and I think this is only the beginning,’ Home Credit & Finance Bank CEO Ivan Svitek announced at the press conference on the introduction of the bank’s Yekaterinburg branch.

‘We keep working on the cushion mechanics, so to say; for one, we’ve grown pickier in terms of whom to give money to. The borrowers who find themselves unable to pay the loan off are offered debt restructuring (if we can be positive that they have really lost their job),’ Svitek explained.

The executive noted the procedure usually involved the new payment schedule.

‘As of September 30, 2008, the share of overdue debt came to 9.2%, but we are prepared for this figure to double,’ Svitek remarked.