São Paulo – Consumer demand for credit lost steam in April in Brazil. According to data released by consulting firm Serasa Experian this Monday (18th), the number of people who took out loans was down 0.5% from April 2014 and down 12.2% from March this year. Year-to-date through April, however, demand for credit was up 4.3% from the comparable period in 2014.
Serasa Experian said in a statement that the performance seen until April stems from low consumer confidence and rising interest rates for loans. The decline in actual income due to high inflation also caused consumers to shy away from incurring new debts.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
