Italian factoring group Banca Ifis intends to pursue external growth by acquiring another Italian group, says its chief executive Giovanni Bossi, but, so far, has not entered any concrete negotiations.
Ifis registered a return on equity of 19.1 per cent in 2004, up from 14.4 per cent the previous year, while defaults dropped from 3 to 1.9 per cent of total loans. The volume of credit acquired rose from Ђ1.219bn in 2003 to 1.55bn last year and the group is keen to increase its international credit volume to 50 per cent of the total.
Traders have speculated that Ifis could acquire Fidis, the finance arm of Italian automotive group Fiat, or Faber Factor, the factoring group owned by Italian appliance maker Indesit. Veneto Factoring-CBI, a unit of regional bank Banca Lombarda, has also been cited as a possible target.
Source: Il Sole 24 Ore
