Categories: Stories

Nearly 200 000 join the ranks of bad debtors

The credit crunch is taking its toll on South African consumers with 189 000 joining the ranks of bad debtors in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest report from the National Credit Regulator.

The number of consumers in good standing fell to 52.5 percent, the lowest in the three years under review.

The NCR said the number of credit-active consumers increased from 19.97 million in December 2012 to 20.08 at the end of March but the number of those in good standing decreased by 76 000 to 10.55 million.

Those with bad debts increased from 9.34 million to 9.53 million, also the highest over the three years.

Despite this appalling picture in which more than 2.7 million had judgements and pending orders the appetite for credit is on the increase.

There were 15.26 million enquiries from consumers seeking credit during the period.

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Charles Rukuni

The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.

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