Provident Financial, which has announced plans to create up to 250 jobs at its Bradford base, is on track to grow further this year. shareholders heard at the annual meeting.

In an interim management statement covering the period from January to May 3, the credit group’s chairman John van Kuffeler said: “We have started 2011 well.

“Asset quality is under tight control as evidenced by the sound collections performance of the home credit business through the first four months of the year and the record low delinquency levels at Vanquis Bank.

“The group is on track to deliver good quality growth for 2011.”

He said Provident expected its Vanquis Bank credit card subsidiary to start taking retail deposits later this year after agreeing with the Financial Services Authority the capital requirements needed.

“This will further strengthen and diversify the group’s sources of funding and establish stand-alone financing for Vanquis Bank,” he said.

The competitive landscape for Provident’s doorstep lending business remained unchanged, with the incomes of customers remaining stable.

Vanquis was continuing to see demand and was less sensitive to changes in employment than mainstream card issuers and its customers were mostly in regular employment.

The success of Vanquis Bank has led the group to announce plans to establish a second customer call centre at Provident’s Thornton Road, Bradford, headquarters, creating up to 250 jobs.

Vanquis’s customer numbers grew by 24 per cent to 564,000 at the end of the first quarter of 2011 with average receipts around 35 per cent higher.

Mr van Kuffeler said: “Overall, Vanquis Bank’s first quarter performance was ahead of plan and substantially ahead of the first quarter of 2010.

“As indicated at the time of the 2010 full-year results, a number of options have been examined to secure the additional operational capacity required to accommodate the growth of Vanquis Bank from early 2012.

“The preferred option is to establish a second call centre using the capacity available within the Consumer Credit Division’s new Bradford facility, with its ready-made infrastructure and proximity to a deep labour pool,“ said Mr van Kuffeler.

  • Read the full story in Thursday's T&A