Collectius doubled its assets under management (AUM) at US$5 billion, up from US$2.5 billion in the previous year. The debt management fintech leader also saw a 53% growth in portfolio volume with the acquisition of 19 NPL portfolios in 2021, along with a revenue growth of 53% and a 56% growth in customer volume. Over 40 new servicing clients were added, representing a phenomenal 3x growth, with 75% employee growth to a 700-strong team to support that. Its market entry into India and Vietnam and strategic acquisition in Thailand further accelerated its growth path in Asia, on the back of its landmark partnership with strategic investor IFC.
Collectius, the preferred debt purchaser of consumer NPLs, debt management technology leader and leading consumer debt restructuring partner for financial institutions in Asia – shared phenomenal 100% AUM and 200% new client growth, along with 53% portfolio and revenue growth over the past 12 months alone.
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On the back of Collectius’ landmark partnership with strategic investor IFC to sustain the financial stability of Southeast Asian economies amid the pandemic by supporting regional banks to strengthen their balance sheets and helping consumers by resolving unsecured debt in this region, the company’s robust database has also grown to more than five million customers across its markets – representing a 56% growth in customer volume.
With the pandemic continuing to evolve on a day-to-day basis, the consumer credit ecosystem remains fragile even as regional economies progress with their recovery. In emerging Asia, household debt as a share of GDP has risen from 45% in 2008 to over 60% in 2020. In Malaysia and Thailand, household debt is around 90% of GDP. As credit moratoriums come to an end, regulators in the region recognize the importance of assisting individuals struggling with debt while ensuring stability of the financial ecosystem, and have welcomed debt restructuring partners like Collectius to work with financial institutions in tandem with their macroprudential policies. This includes the Philippines where Collectius is among the first companies to be recognised as a FIST Corporation by the government.
This trust has also enabled Collectius to grow its portfolio of clients and partners in the region very strongly, built on its strong technology foundation that prioritizes security and compliance. Collectius has grown its footprint significantly in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand – on top of the Singapore market where it is headquartered – with the acquisition of consumer debt portfolios from a leading Southeast Asian superapp and large financial institutions across the region, a servicing partnership with a digital bank in the Philippines that is outsourcing their full collection operations to Collectius, as well as a partnership with Rapyd to expand digital repayment solutions in Singapore and Thailand.
In terms of market expansion, Collectius fully acquired Magnate, a leading debt servicing firm in Thailand. It also entered the India market, where Indian banks are projected to see a rise in gross non-performing assets (NPA) to 8-9% of total lending from 7.5% in end 2020 led by consumer loans, with the acquisition of its first consumer debt portfolio from a BNPL provider. Collectius is also making headway in Vietnam with the establishment of a local debt trading company, which will support customers in better navigating personal finance as elevated leverage remains a big concern for the country’s banking sector.
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“2021 has been a strong year for Collectius, which saw us strengthen our position as the leading restructuring partner for financial institutions in Asia, where we leveraged our digital-first approach to debt management that is built on the foundation of technology and digital-led strategies. Coupled with our ‘Collectius way of Collection’ – rooted in ethics, and regulatory compliance, and a personalised, tailored approach – we were able to attain robust growth as we continued to gain the trust of our rapidly growing pool of customers and financial partners,” shares Gustav Eriksson, Group Chief Executive Officer and one of two founders of Collectius.
Collectius’ expected growth in 2022 comes amid the continuous upgrading of its digital-first approach to debt management – including a re-optimised self-service customer platform, and an end-to-end digital customer experience on some portfolios – strengthening its status as a fintech leader in the typically-traditional debt management industry in Asia. Collectius will be adding chat and voice bots, along with speech analytics capabilities, to further deliver the best customer experience in debt management.
Collectius’ real-time data analytics continues to cement its position as industry leader, which has also allowed them to simulate customers’ loan and debt repayment patterns. Consistent with industry observations, Collectius’ data has also revealed improving debt-repayment capabilities amid economic recovery, and a continued preference for digital payment methods, even for debt repayment.
“Our growth has us well-placed to continue playing our dual-role in strengthening the financial debt ecosystem as we continue with our market expansion in the region, taking the lead in transforming Asia’s debt management industry by capitalising our technology leadership, and setting the bar to create a transparent system while digitally transforming and humanising the process of recovery in the year ahead and beyond,” continues Eriksson.
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