Number of credit cards issued down by 1.5%

Commercial lenders and cooperative banks issued 253,000 credit cards in Q1 with a total granted credit limit of PLN 1.1 billion, a decline of 1.5 percent y/y in terms of quantity and an increase of 10.5 percent y/y in terms of value, according to the Credit Information Bureau (Biuro Informacji Kredytowej - BIK).  In March, 95,800 credit cards were issued, with a total granted credit limit of PLN 385.2 million, a decrease of 1.5 percent in terms of quantity and growth of 5.3 percent in terms of value. Granted limits on newly issued credit cards are on average 20 percent lower than the current limits in the entire portfolio of active credit cards.