Despite the economic impact of COVID-19, a strong recovery in the Canadian housing market and a slower paydown of existing mortgages helped push total consumer debt to 1.991 trillion dollars in the second quarter, according to Equifax Canada’s most recent report on consumer credit conditions. Consumer debt is up 2.8 per cent compared to the same quarter in 2019.
Rising mortgage balances helped push the average debt per person to $73,532, up 2.2 per cent compared to the second quarter of 2019.
The 90+ day delinquency rate (the percentage of balances where credit users have missed 3+ payments) for non-mortgage debt rate was 1.24 per cent (10.6% up compared to Q2 2019). This continues a trend from 2019 and does not measure the full weight of COVID. Younger borrowers saw a drop in overall delinquency rate compared to Q1, but this may be reflective of the increased usage of payment deferrals and government-support benefits.
Should you be experiencing negative changes in the payment behavior of your customers CASE can help! As a collection agency with offices in Edmonton, Calgary and the GTA we can apply our best professional efforts in order to make your past due accounts receivable a top priority.
For a breakdown of average debt levels and delinquency rates by age demographic and a major Canadian city analysis click here