In 2020, Montepio de Palma led the growth in the pawning of jewellery for the whole Fundación Montemadrid en España network: the growth was 7.3%. The reason for the growth was clear enough. The crisis had a very negative impact on families, individuals and businesses.
According to Montepio, the range of customers last year was much wider than previously. There was, for example, a greater percentage of employees, the self-employed and businesspeople linked to the tourism industry. Between May and October, activity was very high, while there were requests to pawn all sorts of items of jewellery. Over the first quarter of this year, there was a two per cent increase in operations and a one per cent rise in the number of customers.
In terms of value, Palma had the highest increase for several years - 13%. Montepio notes that, for the first time, there were requests from people below the age of 30, who were seeking money from the sale of small items of jewellery. For the self-employed, a lower level of interest was established, as they have been one of the groups most in need. The normal interest is 8.25%, depending on the type of jewellery and the value. For the self-employed, this has been lower.