RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Four out of 10 personal loans taken out by Brazilians are used to exchange an existing debt for another one with better payment conditions. A survey conducted by Guiabolso shows that 42% of customers intend to use the new credit, with better conditions, to pay off an old debt with high interest rates.
Of this total, 35% use the new loan to pay off their credit cards or settle the revolving installment plan, while 11% aim to clear their overdrafts.
The analyzed data also show that 17% of respondents took out at least one loan in the period from April through June this year.
Within this group, the average amount stood at R$9,850 (US$1,900). The range of up to R$3,000 corresponds to 27% of the total, and between R$3,001 and R$5,000, to 18.7%. Loans between R$5,001 and R$10,000 represent 26.7%, while over R$10,001 account for 27.6%.