OREANDA-NEWS. May 27, 2014. Residents of Latvia would be more likely to borrow funds from friends, acquaintances or their bank should they be short of money for purchasing goods or services, suggests a poll conducted by the Citadele Bank in cooperation with Snapshots.lv.

A poll conducted among people aged between 18 and 74 showed that people would choose to borrow from the sources they are most familiar with and they trust most. In case of a need for additional funds in order to buy certain goods or services 40% of the respondents would borrow from friends or acquaintances whereas 36% of respondents would turn to their bank in order to seek the most advantageous loan proposal.

"In cases when clients need funds for buying some goods or travelling the most suitable types of loans that we offer as a bank are payment cards with credit limits or consumer loans," explains Dace Priede, Head of Retail Client and SME Services Directorate.

The majority of those who would opt for consumer loans, i.e. 61% of respondents, said they would turn to their bank whereas 45% of respondents would inquire with several banks so that they can choose the most advantageous proposal. Almost one fourth or 23% of respondents said they would consider borrowing from friends or relatives. One fifth of respondents, in turn, might go for the proposal offered by the particular store, and another 20% of respondents admit they would consider payday loan services.

"Currently various sources of funding are available which people can use in case they need to borrow money. Therefore the fact that reliability of the source of funding has become an important criterion for choosing a lender is a positive development. Borrowers acquire stability and security if they choose to borrow from a bank. Likewise, the relationship between the bank and the client are of a long-term character – this enables to receive the necessary sum of money when the client needs it," explains Dace Priede.

Younger respondents (aged between 18 and 29) consider that borrowing from friends and relatives is the best way to acquire additional funds; however the desire to borrow from anyone in their friend circle decreases as the age of respondents increases. Likewise, the tendency to inquire with several banks in order to find the best consumer loan proposal appears more commonly as the respondents’ age increases. Residents of Latvia living outside of cities mostly indicated that they trust the consumer loans offered by their bank whereas the inhabitants of Riga prefer borrowing from someone in their circle of friends.

The income level of respondents plays an important role in terms of choosing consumer loans: more than a half, i.e. 51% of respondents with an income larger than 900 euros would choose consumer loans offered by their bank. Conversely, the part of the society which does not have stable income would be far more likely to borrow from their friends or acquaintances instead of using the services of any credit institutions.

The poll was conducted in March 2014 among residents ranging between 18 and 74 years of age.