Consumer Spending and Home Loan Demand Led South Africa’s Credit Market Growth in Q1 2024
Consumers’ credit appetite continued to grow despite the sustained high interest rate environment, as consumer confidence improved slightly during this quarter, along with lower inflation metrics in January and March. Originations – a measure of new accounts opened – saw the strongest Q1 2024 year-over-year (YoY) growth in personal loans – up by 20%. This was the third consecutive quarter in which personal loans growth outpaced other consumer credit products.
Despite the uptick in home loan delinquencies, and a more muted uptick in vehicle finance delinquencies, South African consumers’ credit performance for consumption-led products improved during Q1 2024, with delinquency rates improving across all unsecured credit products.
1Account-level serious delinquency rate, measured as a percentage of accounts three or more months in arrears
2Inclusive of both bank issued, and non-bank issued personal loans
“South African consumers remained resilient through the first quarter of 2024, keeping up with their payments and leveraging their access to credit to maintain liquidity. Lenders seeking to maximise opportunity in the current economic environment will win the loyalty of resilient consumers by offering agile financial solutions that provide flexibility for their consumption needs.”
- Lee Naik, CEO of TransUnion Africa
TransUnion’s quarterly South Africa Industry Insights Report provides in-depth, statistical information drawn from its national consumer credit database, aggregated across virtually every active credit file on record. Each file contains hundreds of credit variables that illustrate consumer credit usage and performance. Entities across industries can subscribe to and leverage the Industry Insights Report to analyse market dynamics throughout an entire business cycle, helping them understand consumer behaviour over time.
The report looks at major consumer lending categories: credit cards, personal loans, home loans, vehicle and asset finance (VAF), and clothing, focusing primarily on three dimensions across these categories: originations (new accounts opened), balances (outstanding total and average lending balances) and delinquencies (accounts in payment arrears).Businesses can access more details about and subscribe to the Industry Insights Report. The South Africa Industry Insights Report looks at major consumer lending categories: credit cards, personal loans, home loans, vehicle and asset finance (VAF), and clothing. The report primarily focuses on three dimensions across these categories: originations (new accounts opened), balances (outstanding total and average lending balances) and delinquencies (accounts in payment arrears).
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