To say regulation hasn’t been a friend to International Personal Finance (IPF) during the past two years would be an understatement. The sub-prime lender has suffered as a result of tighter rules on consumer loan charges and creditworthiness assessments, as well as mounting competition in some of its core European markets. The latest threat to profitability are proposals from the Polish tax authorities that would disallow tax deductions relating to certain transactions. While management has taken some action to try to mitigate some of these pressures, profitability was still eroded last year. What’s more, City analysts expect earnings to decline again this year.
High dividend yield
Trading at a discount
Broker downgrades for 2017 and 2018
Rising competition
Regulatory pressures
Polish tax dispute