Biznes Fakty
Arrears to leasing companies are growing. KRD report
Over the past year, debts owed to leasing firms surged by nearly 25 percent, reaching PLN 1.36 billion, based on information from the National Debt Register. The highest levels of debt are reported by entrepreneurs from Mazovia, Silesia, and Wielkopolska.
According to the report, leasing serves as the primary financing source for 66% of small and medium-sized enterprises – the second highest figure in the European Union, following Finland. Concurrently, an increasing number of Polish entrepreneurs are failing to meet their installment deadlines. Clients of leasing and rental firms are behind on repayments amounting to PLN 1.36 billion, which is nearly 25% more compared to the previous year.
Leasing is gaining traction
The authors of the report observed that the leasing sector concluded the previous year with double-digit growth, and this year, the market value is likely to be even greater due to a favorable economic climate, rising investment demands from Polish businesses, and new regulations that will ease access to financing for many entities in the SME sector. The Polish Leasing Association reported that in the first quarter of 2025, the industry facilitated financing totaling PLN 26.3 billion, representing a 1.3 percent increase compared to the same timeframe last year.
As per ZPL data referenced in the report, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises currently make up nearly three-quarters of the clientele of leasing firms. This trend is mirrored in the rental of machinery, equipment, and vehicles. The long-term car rental market in Poland experienced an 8.5% year-on-year growth in 2024 regarding the number of vehicles financed through this method.
Simultaneously, the quantity of unreliable payers is on the rise. According to KRD data, around 16.7 thousand companies are behind on payments to leasing firms and those involved in the rental of machinery, equipment, and vehicles. On average, each indebted company has PLN 81.4 thousand in outstanding payments.
Which companies utilize leasing?
Among the sectors with the highest debts, transport companies form the largest group – 3.2 thousand, with unpaid liabilities totaling PLN 345.2 million. Following them are trading companies with debts amounting to PLN 241.4 million, and construction companies in third place, with PLN 165.3 million owed.
– Vehicles account for nearly 80 percent of all leased assets. Therefore, it is not unexpected that transport firms, couriers, and carriers lead the list of debtors. However, our experience in managing receivables indicates that the typical leasing debtor is an entrepreneur from the SME sector who defaults on payments due to awaiting transfers from clients – remarked Jakub Kostecki, president of the debt collection agency Kaczmarski Inkasso.
The highest concentration of debtors within the leasing and rental sector is found in Mazovia, where 3.6 thousand companies have liabilities totaling PLN 342.2 million. Silesia comes next, with over 1.8 thousand debtors and PLN 141.6 million in debts. Entrepreneurs in Wielkopolska owe nearly PLN 133.2 million, while companies from Lower Silesia have debts of PLN 115.3 million.
The regions with the least overall arrears are Opole province at PLN 17.5 million, followed by clients from Świętokrzyskie province with PLN 24.5 million and Podkarpackie province with PLN 25.9 million.
Developments in the leasing industry
The report’s authors highlighted that leasing companies are verifying their clients by assessing their financial credibility through the KRD. Last year, they retrieved almost 1.25 million economic reports from the National Debt Register. This year, they indicated, the number will likely increase even further, with nearly 451 thousand reports about clients downloaded in the first quarter alone.
– Many leasing firms and companies that rent out machinery, devices, and vehicles do not limit their checks to the client’s NIP; they often, in cases of sole proprietorships, also verify the entrepreneur’s PESEL. Such dual checks are becoming increasingly prevalent and, when combined with the KRD payment credibility analysis, provide a more comprehensive overview of the client’s financial status. This is particularly significant for sole proprietorships, which account for the majority, 56 percent, of all debtors of leasing and rental firms and are responsible for nearly PLN 632 million in debt – stated Adam Łącki, president of the National Debt Register of the Economic Information Bureau.
The report suggests that the leasing sector is on the brink of legislative changes that will simplify the contract conclusion process. Currently, a written format is essential for a leasing contract to be valid, necessitating the customer to provide a qualified electronic signature or physically sign the document. The deregulation act, adopted by the Senate on Wednesday, indicates that a documentary form submitted remotely, such as via email or even text message, will suffice to create a valid leasing contract.
