The delinquency rate in Belo Horizonte began the year with a 3.0 percentage point (pp) decline, reaching 29.3% in January, compared to 32.3% recorded in December. This was the lowest level reached by the indicator in the last 12 months.
The data is part of the Consumer Debt and Default Survey (Peic), prepared by Fecomércio MG, based on data from the National Confederation of Commerce of Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC).
The Federation's economist, Bárbara Guimarães, explains that the index refers to the number of families with outstanding bills or debts.
“The decline in the indicator reveals that more people are managing to pay overdue bills, which were acquired mainly with post-dated checks, credit cards, store credit cards, loans personal, property acquisition and car and insurance payments.”
Continued Debt
The Federation's survey also showed that, for the fourth consecutive month, the debt index fell, reaching 72.8% of Belo Horizonte residents in January.
The main type of debt continues to be credit cards (86.2%), and the rate is even higher among families with more than 10 minimum wages (93.5%). Next come installment plans (13.7%), car loans (12.3%), real estate loans (10.2%), overdrafts (9.2%), and payroll loans (8.9%).
“It is noticeable that Belo Horizonte residents are buying less, avoiding financial commitments in an attempt to ease their budget.
However, we still see credit card use among the main payment options, which needs to be well planned by the consumer, so as not to lose control of their family budget,” analyzes the economist.
The percentage of consumers who said they were unable to pay off their debt also fell further. Therefore, assuming a value of 10.5% in January, this is 3.4 percentage points lower than the figure recorded in December (13.9%). This is the lowest value for this indicator in the last year.
In fact, the research also showed that families in Belo Horizonte commit their income to debt for an average period of seven months.
Indebtedness
In the capital of Minas Gerais, debt represents 10% of family income for 68.7% of those interviewed, and for 19.7% this percentage reaches 50% of the monthly budget.
The PEIC reflects the extent to which household income is being spent on financing real estate, cars, loans, credit cards, stores, and post-dated checks. It also reflects the payment capacity of consumers in the capital of Minas Gerais.
To prepare the January survey, 1,000 families living in Belo Horizonte were interviewed. The margin of error for the survey, conducted in the last ten days of November, is 3.5%, and the confidence level is 95%.