Win-Win: Uni Banka is relying on collaboration with EOS for its receivables management. 

The timing was ideal. It was August 2021, when Vladislav Hadjidinev, Executive Director of the Macedonian bank “Uni Banka” got a call on his cellphone. On the other end was Katerina Bosevska, Managing Director of EOS Macedonia and Kosovo. The pair knew each other professionally. Partly because in the past, Katerina had proposed a collaboration between the bank and the receivables management company to the Board of Uni Banka: EOS could purchase Uni Banka’s unrecoverable receivables and take over its receivables management process. At that time, her initiative was unsuccessful. But when Katerina reiterated her proposal in August 2021, Vladislav’s reply was: “We should meet.”

Just a few days later they discussed the basis for the collaboration, and a few weeks later they signed the contracts. Vladislav smiles when he talks about it: “It was a huge success for both our companies.” Katerina nods in agreement.

And that’s despite the fact that this kind of collaboration is unusual in North Macedonia. No other bank before has handed over its receivables management, says Vladislav. In his organization too, there had been a lot of skepticism previously: “After all, for a bank this also has a psychological aspect: Why should we sell our receivables?”

But in August 2021, something had changed. Due to the pandemic, the economic situation in the country was challenging. A growing number of loans were not being serviced. Not only was that jeopardizing the bank’s liquidity, Vladislav relates: “It also threatened our successful track record.” Because for years, the financial institution had been achieving outstanding results for its investors, with return-of-investment rates of up to 15 per cent. Now, in the third quarter of the pandemic year of 2021, the non-performing loans threatened to disappoint expectations. “Naturally, we had also tried ourselves to avoid defaults, for example through better credit scoring models” says Vladislav.

This is why it was the right point in time for EOS to bring its expertise once again into play, says Katerina. This time around, she deliberately approached Vladislav: “I knew that he was a specialist in risk management. So, I relied on the fact that he would assess the situation in the same way as I would.” Just a few weeks later, EOS took over a package of consumer loans from Uni Banka.

The outsourcing was a test run, says Vladislav. “First of all, we all had to see what we were getting into.” This was also the case for EOS. After all, there were still no reference values for North Macedonia to calculate what implementation rates and prices were realistic. “It was a huge help to us that we are an international company,” says Katerina. “The headquarters of the EOS Group supported us with its experience and expertise.”

But this wasn’t a one-off contract. The experts from EOS and Uni Banka met regularly to discuss which receivables could be realized. And in what amount. Where were there difficulties, where it was going well, and what the reasons were in each case.

“We got greater insights from all this,” says Vladislav. “This helps us to calculate our products better in future and adjust the parameters more precisely.” For example, demographic and geographical factors are now receiving more attention when calculating offers. “In this way we were able to reduce the number of payment defaults.” 

And loans that are nonetheless not being serviced are now being taken over by EOS. To this end, the two companies have meanwhile signed a long-term contract. This is based on the concept of ‘revolving debt management’ developed by EOS: Every quarter, Uni Banka sells its loans to EOS at a preset percentage for the nominal value. For Uni Banka this is ideal, says Vladislav: “We can calculate the costs for our defaults.” In turn, EOS benefits from the fact that it can take over a fixed volume of loans. “Thanks to our expertise, this system pays off for us too.”

They both believe that in the long term, the collaboration could have positive impulse for all North Macedonia “Now we have a best practice example that shows all financial institutions: “It is worthwhile for you if we take this task off your hands,” says Katerina. In case of doubt, EOS can also just take on the role of advisor: “If someone wants to continue to handle their receivables management themselves, we can show them how to do it more effectively.”

Ultimately, this not only benefits Uni Banka and EOS, says Katerina, but consumers as well. Because when banks cannot recover their debts they are quick to initiate legal proceedings. “This isn’t a nice solution for any of the parties and it is also expensive,” says Katerina. EOS takes a different approach: “We speak with the consumers and discuss what’s feasible, and find practicable solutions. Often, we get positive feedback about this approach, with people telling us that they didn't know something like this was possible.”

Ultimately, Macedonian society as a whole also benefits. “We get people out of their debt,” says Katerina: “In doing so we enable them to participate in economic life again. And that boosts the entire economic cycle.”

If you’d like to know more about international collaboration with EOS, simply get in touch!