Loans to buy a car reached 1.25 billion euros in the first half of the year, which represents an increase of 13% compared to the 1.11 billion registered in the same period last year and an average of 6.9 million requests per day, mainly for the purchase of used vehicles, according to calculations made by DN/Dinheiro Vivo, based on data from the Association of Specialized Credit Institutions (ASFAC).
These statistics include only the production of ASFAC members, who represent 60% of consumer credit in Portugal and hold 75% of car credit, 45% of personal credit and 59% of credit cards. BNP Paribas, Cofidis, Unicre and BMW Group are some of the credit institutions specialized in consumer finance that make up the list of 26.
The values collected up to June show that the Portuguese asked for 1.15 billion, that is, practically 92% of the total amount, to buy light passenger cars. Within this category, second-hand cars remained a bet, accounting for more than 74% of the amount of loans, which in absolute values represents 933.3 million euros. In contrast, only €218.2 million was spent on purchasing vehicles ready for their debut.
The preference for used vehicles is not exclusive to this moment: already in the first six months of last year, loans for the purchase of light passenger cars in this state totaled 1.02 billion euros (13% less than in 2023), which representing 76% of the car credit granted during that period, while only 16%, or 177.5 million euros, was spent on the purchase of new cars.
If we focus only on the evolution of car credit between January and June of this year, there was a better performance in the second quarter, with financing of 651.3 million euros, compared to the first quarter, when 605.3 million was loaned out – that is, from April to June. the institutions have awarded a further EUR 46 million. The increase between the first and second quarters was a trend that was also observed last year.
All told, car loans represented about 60% of traditional credits granted by ASFAC members to households and companies during the first half of the year, and in the same period of 2022 this share reached 57%, which translates into an increase of three percentage points. In an interview with DN/Dinheiro Vivo, Duarte Gomes Pereira, general secretary of the association, explained that the increase was mainly due to “greater availability of vehicles on the market and the completion of work due to orders of several months past “.
It should be remembered that in traditional credit, the institution makes available to the customer a certain amount of money, which must be repaid within a predetermined period and under contractually agreed conditions. Between January and June, the amount granted through this type of loan amounted to 2.09 billion euros, an increase of 7% compared to the same period last year, when 1.95 billion euros were lent.
In this sense, consumer loans, which related to individuals, amounted to 1.92 billion euros, which not only reflects a share of practically 92%, but also means that households requested more than 10.6 million per day in institutional credit – this is a increase of 5% compared to the same series of months in the previous year.
Part of this item, the value of personal loans intended to finance the acquisition of goods and services, which can also be entered into without a specific purpose, amounted to EUR 609.5 million, with the provision showing a decrease in the second quarter. of approximately 16 million euros. % compared to the first three months of the year. Still, compared to the first half of 2022, total personal credit increased by 2%.
Until June, approximately 243,810 traditional credit contracts were signed, of which 236,486 relate to households and 7,324 to companies. While requests from individuals remained stable year-on-year and increased only 2%, credit applications from companies increased by 19%. Considering the total volume, growth was 3%, good for an additional 6,543 contracts.
Consider all the turning on accounts, i.e. credit cards that offer a certain ceiling and which can be used or not, consumer credit in the context of the activity of the 26 ASFAC members increased by almost 9% in the first half of the year, compared to the same period last year, amounting to 3.6 billion euros. In concrete terms, the Portuguese had approximately 1.7 billion euros in ceilings at their disposal during the same period.
No warning signs of non-compliance
Credit is often a way for families to meet needs they might not otherwise be able to meet, including current expenses. And while consumer loan terms are largely fixed, other factors such as inflation and the increase in mortgage costs, due to rising interest rates, have weighed on consumers’ budgets, leading to a loss of disposable income and, if as a result, to a greater effort to pay the installments of other balances, such as personal, car or even credit cards.
But so far there are no alarming signals about the level of non-compliance, guarantees Duarte Gomes Pereira. In part because lending in Portugal “is done carefully and is subject to a complete analysis of the customer and his financial capacity at any time and future perspective,” explains the Secretary General of ASFAC. What happened previously, he notes, was “an adjustment” in the financing provided by partners in light of the current economic situation, which was essentially reflected in “greater caution” on the part of credit institutions that specialize are in the consumer segment.
According to data cited by the association, the consumer loan default rate even showed improvements during the second quarter, reaching 3.3% in July, up from 3.3% at the beginning of the year. of one percentage point. Moreover, this is a value “well below” the 4.5% recorded in January 2022.
“The quality of consumer credit is quite good, if we take the default rate as a benchmark,” emphasizes the same responsible person. However, he adds that “if there are deteriorating socio-economic levels and legal restrictions on consumer credit”, problems will be inevitable.
Mariana Coelho Dias is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
