The Bulgarian investment company "Kredi Yes" has lost its operating licence in Macedonia. A single citizen complaint triggered an extraordinary inspection. What the Finance Ministry found - serious legal breaches, improper treatment of customers, and practices that exposed citizens to financial risk.

"Kredi Yes" growth in Macedonia was explosive. They entered the country in 2019. By 2026 they had 39 branches in 22 cities. From 14 employees in 2021 to 110 employees in 2025. Revenue: from 287,000 euros in 2021 to 4 million euros in 2025, with a profit of 1.14 million - 30 percent up on the previous year.

All inside six years. That isn't organic growth - that's the expansion of a company that knows the fast-loan market in a country with low wages and high inflation has practically no floor. People on the edge of a financial crisis take loans with drastically high interest rates, then can't pay them back, then take another loan to cover the first. A cycle that's comfortable for the company and catastrophic for the customer.

The Finance Ministry now says it has tightened supervision over fast-loan providers. 22 fines have been issued against 16 companies in 2026 alone. Still, the question that stays open: what happens to the existing "Kredi Yes" contracts? What happens to the 110 employees? Who picks up the customers still paying off loans?

For Macedonia's economy this is a test. Can we regulate the fast-loan sector, or will new "Kredi Yes" companies keep popping up in different shells? And VLEN - which had pushed for tougher controls - stands as the political force that can claim credit for this win. The question is whether the system holds when the next such company shows up.