São Paulo – Consumer demand for credit increased 3.7% in 2016 in comparison to 2015, according to survey made public this Monday (16) by consulting firm Serasa Experian. Upon analysis of retail data, the firm points out that the data shows that loans taken throughout the year were used toward payment of pre-existing debts rather than consumption or investment.
The demand increase was higher within the income bracket of between BRL 1,000 to BRL 2,000 (USD 308.92 to USD 617.85) with 3.7%. In the BRL 5,000 to BRL 10,000 (USD 1544.64 to USD 3089.28) bracket, it went up 4.1%. For those earning above BRL 10,000, demand surged 3.6%.
In the analysis by region, the South region registered the highest credit demand at 7.2%. In Center-West, it stood at 5.1%, with the Southeast and the Northeast registering increases of 3.7% and 1.7%, respectively. In the North region the credit demand fell 2.6% throughout 2016.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
