Never before have so many Brazilians been in debt as today

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The economic crisis triggered by the Covid 19 pandemic and its related isolation and containment measures has caused the debt of Brazilian families to reach a new record in July.

According to a survey released Thursday (8/5) by the National Confederation of Commerce in Goods, Services, and Tourism (CNC). The survey shows that 71% of families are currently in debt, the highest since the historical series began in 2010.

This is the third consecutive month in which the percentage has increased. Of delinquent, 10.9% say they are “very indebted” and therefore unable to pay the debt. Meanwhile, 25% of families say they are “more or less in debt,” while 31% say they have little debt.

The survey considers the following lines of credit: postdated checks, credit cards, overdrafts, business credit cards, consignment loans, personal loans, and mortgages for cars and homes.

INCOME

Debt affects the social classes in the country differently. The survey shows that the percentage of families with incomes up to 10 minimum wages increased from 70.7% to 72.6% in July. In the same period last year, this percentage was 69%.

Families with incomes above 10 minimum wages were 66.3% in July. In June, the percentage was 65.5%. Last year, it was 59.1% in July.

The highly indebted group registered a slight decrease, from 14.7% in June to 14.6% in July, an index of 0.9 percentage points lower than in July 2020.

DEBT

The credit card is the main villain among the debts of Brazilians. The modality was reported by 82.7% of those in debt, the highest in the historical series. Overall, the average delay in the payment of debts was 61.9 days.

After credit cards, defaulters indicated business accounts (18% of families), personal loans (9.8%), and housing loans (9.7%) as their main debts.