The Annual UNIREC 2025 event took place today in Rome, at the Auditorium Antonianum, where the XV Annual Report of the Association was presented. The report offers a snapshot of the credit industry throughout 2024—a year marked by strong momentum for a sector once again navigating major current and future challenges. From geopolitical uncertainty to the urgent need to address the impact of artificial intelligence on work and decision-making, and the growing demands around compliance and ethics, these were the core themes discussed in the event’s roundtables.
The report outlines a complex and evolving picture. Revenues for member companies rose by 5%, confirming the central role of debt collection, which accounts for 94% of their overall business. There was also a sharp 25% increase in the number of files entrusted to agencies compared to the previous year, with the total value of those claims reaching €191 billion—up 10% from €174 billion in 2023.
This growth is reflected in the amounts recovered as well, which reached €21 billion—an annual increase of 23%. Once again, banks and financial institutions are the driving force, generating 94% of the entrusted amounts (61% and 33%, respectively). However, there was also a notable increase in the number of files coming from the utilities and telecom sectors, which now account for 55% of the total.
Despite the higher volume of operations, commission rates declined to 3.9%, down from 4.1% in 2023, and the average ticket value also decreased to €4,135. Nonetheless, this remains one of the highest values in the last five years, indicating growing complexity in portfolio management.
The average workload per company has risen to around 300,000 cases, leading to an increase in personnel, now exceeding 16,000 employees—61% of whom are women.
The report also confirms two ongoing trends: on one hand, the increasing use of artificial intelligence, which is reshaping credit analysis and management; on the other, a wave of consolidation among operators, driven by declining NPL flows and a gradual reorganization of the market, resulting in new balances and a changing landscape of players.
This is a mature and technically robust industry, now gearing up to meet the new objectives set by regulators, especially in light of the implementation of the Secondary Market Directive and its impact on the Italian market.
