RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazilian families with debts, overdue or not, reached 77.5% in March of this year, the highest rate since the beginning of the Consumer Debt and Delinquency Survey (PEIC), in 2010, according to the National Confederation of Commerce of Goods, Services, and Tourism (CNC).
In February, the percentage stood at 76.6%. In March last year, the rate was 67.3%.
Defaulters, i.e., households with overdue bills or debts, reached 27.8%, the second-highest percentage in the survey, only surpassed by that recorded in the first month of the survey, January 2010 (29.1%). In February, the rate was 27% and 24.4% in March 2021.
On the other hand, families who will not be able to pay their debts and overdue bills total 10.8%, above the percentages of February of this year and March of last year (both 10.5%).
Credit cards appear as the reason for indebtedness in 87% of the cases in Brazil, followed by installment payment plans with passbooks (18.7%), car loans (11.2%), personal loans (9.4%), and mortgages (8.6%).
With information from Agência Brasil