The captive finance arm of PSA
Peugeot-Citroën, Banque PSA Finance, has reported Q3 sales growth
year-on-year of 7 per cent to €534m/£457m (Q3 2007: €499m/£427m) –
despite sales at its parent company falling by 7.1 per cent to
€10.2bn (£8.7bn).

The manufacturer said that its captive had managed to offset
increased funding costs by passing them on to customers in the form
of higher prices.

The number of new lease and finance contracts signed in the
quarter grew slightly to 196,025, up 0.5 per cent on the same
quarter last year. The total outstanding loan portfolio at the end
of Q3 2008 was €23.8bn (£20.4), up 2.6 per cent on last year.

“Banque PSA Finance’s long standing prudent and conservative
approach to credit financing is a key factor in its solidity during
the financial crisis,” PSA said.

In addition, the captive has €6bn (£5.1bn) of undrawn syndicated
credit facilities, and “sufficient” financial headroom for several
months of normal operations.

Banque PSA Finance successfully completed a €1bn (£857m)
securitisation transaction in July of this year.