Although the delinquency of the consumer portfolio of commercial banking remains low and stable -2.89% as of last October- the number of late payments by customers has grown, mainly in the credit card product.
An analysis of the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services (driving) highlights that as of August 2022, there were a total of 27.5 million active credit cards, a figure higher than the 25.3 million of the same month of 2021.
Specifies that those with current payments (that is, without any arrears) were 24.7 million.
However, those that were in arrears, that is, from 1 to 3 consecutive defaults, were 2.38 million, which represented 1.4 million more than the 988,000 that were in this situation in August 2021.
In contrast, those that were overdue, with a delay of more than four payments, dropped from 496,000 in August 2021, to 419,000 in August 2022, a reduction of 77,000.
As for the credit card balance that registered arrears, this was 44,700 million pesos (against a total of 363,000 million for the portfolio), an increase of 28,700 million compared to the 16,000 million of August 2021.
while the balance due had a decrease from 9,700 million pesos to 8,300 million in the period. The Delinquency Index (IMOR) of bank credit cards stood at 2.67% last October.
Regarding the payroll creditsthe Condusef document details that as of August 2022 there were 5.3 million loans of this type from banks, of which 4.9 million were current.
However, the number of loans behind in payments rose from 220,000 to 306,000, that is, 86,000 more loans in the period; while the losers went from 93,000 to 121,000.
Regarding the overdue balance in payroll loans, it rose from 10,450 million pesos to 15,700 (against a total of 307,800 million for this portfolio), that is, an increase of 5,250 million; and the expired one went from 5,400 million to 7,350 million. Here the IMOR was 3.02% in October.
And with regard to personal loans, Condusef’s analysis indicates that as of August 2022 there were a total of 13.1 million assets, of which 10.2 million were current, that is, without any type of delay.
Those who registered arrears rose from 2.0 million in August 2021, to 2.2 million in the same month of 2022; while the expired ones remained relatively stable with 658,000 and 687,000 respectively.
As for the balance in arrears in personal loans, it grew from 16,650 million pesos in August 2021 to 20,400 million, an increase of 3,850 million; and the expired was located at 8,400 million.
Reflection of rate hike
In its analysis, the Condusef explains that this situation shows in a certain sense, that the increase in the interest rate, as a result of the fact that the reference rate of the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) has been rising, begins to put pressure on the liquidity of the credit card users.
“The other important issue is the increase in inflation, which erodes the disposable income of families,” he emphasizes.
