Consumer credit down
Aug 28 2009
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Consumer credit continued to slow in the closing quarter of 2008, the National Credit Regulator (NCR) said in its second Consumer Credit Report released on Wednesday, 26 August 2009. 

• Total credit agreements entered into during the final quarter of 2008 declined 8.64% to R66.07 billion from the previous quarter's R72.32 billion, the report said.
• The total value of new credit transactions entered into declined from R64.71 billion in the quarter ended September 2008 to R58.84 billion for the quarter ended December 2008, a decrease of 9.08%, the report said.
• 2.40 million credit transactions were entered into for the December 2008 quarter, compared to 2.23 million for the September 2008 quarter.
• Credit facilities approved declined by R380 million (4.94%) from R7.61 billion advanced during the September 2008 quarter to R7.23 billion during the December 2008 quarter.
• The largest category of credit transactions, mortgages, accounted for R27.18 billion (46.20%) of the R58.84 billion of credit granted during the December 2008 quarter, a decline of R6.59 billion (19.48 percent) from R33.77 billion in the September 2008 quarter.
• The second largest credit category was "other credit agreements", which includes vehicle finance, furniture, and loans secured against a pension/provident fund or insurance policies.
• Disbursements for this category increased by R370 million (1.65%) from R22.28 billion during the September 2008 quarter to R22.65 billion during the December 2008 quarter.
• As at December 2008, the total outstanding balance for consumer credit was R1.15 trillion. Mortgages accounted for R733.63 billion (63.97%); "other credit agreements" totalled R226.78 billion (19.78%); credit facilities were R137.74 billion (12.01%); unsecured credit was R47.92 billion (4.18%); and short-term credit was R689.81 million (0.06%).
• The banks' share of the total outstanding balance for consumer credit as at December 2008 was R1.03 trillion (89.72%) with the retailers at R37.20 billion (3.24%), non-bank vehicle financiers at R37.74 billion (3.29%) and "other credit providers" at R42.92 billion (3.74%). Other credit providers consisted primarily of vehicle and furniture finance, the report said.
• Of the R58.84 billion of credit transactions entered into in the December 2008 quarter, borrowers in Gauteng received R27.18 billion (46%) followed by the Western Cape with R9.06 billion (15.41%).
• The 2nd edition of the Consumer Credit Report is based on data submitted by the primary national credit providers, representing an estimated 90% of the total consumer credit market, and covered the four quarters to the end of 2008.

Adapted from source: Bizcommunity.com, 27 August 2009