The National Confederation of Trade (CNC) reported a stable 77.4% debt rate in Brazilian families for September.
This matches the rate in August. The rate is the lowest since June of last year, showing a stable trend in family debts.
The study looked at various types of debts. These include credit card bills, overdrafts, and store installment plans.
Overall, these debt types stayed the same in families. However, families earning up to three minimum wages saw a slight debt increase.
This went up by 0.3 percentage points compared to last year. The CNC says these low-income families face ongoing challenges.
This month, a new federal program will help them by clearing negative credit records. Debt isn’t always bad, but 38.6% of these low-income families also have late payments.
The survey has more findings. For instance, 18.3% of low-income consumers can’t pay their old debts. This is the highest number ever recorded for this group.
Credit card debt remains a big issue. In fact, 86.2% of families in debt owe on credit cards. This is a slight increase from last year.
Also, the annual interest rate for this debt type has reached a high of 445.7%.
In terms of income, things are mixed. Low and middle-income people saw a slight rise in credit card debt. But high-income people saw a slight drop.
The survey also looked at gender. Men increased their credit card usage by 1.5 percentage points over the year.
Women decreased theirs by 0.5 points. Instead, many women are choosing lower-interest loans and other credit options.