The share of Brazilian families with debts (overdue or not) reached 78.3% in April this year. The rate is the same as observed in the previous month but above 77.7% in April 2022.
The data are from Peic (Pesquisa de Endividamento e Inadimplência do Consumidor), released on Thursday (4), by CNC (Confederação Nacional do Comércio de Bens, Serviços e Turismo).
The forecast is that the percentage of 78.3% will remain the same for the next 2 months and increase to 78.4% in July, according to the CNC.
The survey indicates that the share of defaulters – those with bills or debts in arrears – reached 29.1% of families in the country, down from 29.4% in March but up from 28.6% in April. The increase took place mainly in the middle class.
Those who will not be able to pay their debts totalled 11.6%, up from 11.5% in March and 10.9% in April of the previous year.
“Those who have been in arrears for longer continue to face difficulties in getting out of default due to high-interest rates, which worsen financial expenses,” points out economist Izis Ferreira from CNC.
For every 100 consumers in default in April, 45 were more than 3 months in arrears.
According to Peic, many consumers have resorted to personal credit, the mode in which interest rates had the lowest growth (average of 42% per year), to pay off more expensive debts, such as the revolving credit card, for example.
Of the total number of consumers in debt, 86.8% have credit card debts, and 9% have personal credit.
The use of this type of credit is the highest in a year, while that of personal credit surpasses the last six months, according to the CNC.