Portugal was the European country with the largest evolution in consumer credit in the first half of the year, with an annual growth of 29.63% to EUR 3,055 million, the ASFAC announced on Tuesday.
The data, which includes only production from members contributing to the Association of Specialized Credit Institutions (ASFAC) statistics, places Portugal at the top of Europe, behind Turkey (116.98% growth).
The European federation Eurofinas points out that, in global terms, the institutions that grant credit to consumers are represented by them “249 billion euros of new loans issued in the first half of 2022, a growth of 13.7% compared to the same period in 2021”.
The ASFAC states that the most expressive increases “were verified when granting personal credits” – including credit for the purchase of goods, credit cards, consolidated credit or non-specific credit, with Turkey growing by 357.25%, followed by Portugal (38.36%), the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom.
ASFAC general secretary, Duarte Gomes Pereira, quoted in a statement as saying that these results – with a low non-compliance rate – represent positives and reflect the work of ASFAC members, but cautioned that they are still a long way off. from those before the coronavirus pandemic.
“We must see that this evolution is related to a particularly critical period and of low production, such as the first half of 2021, so it cannot be assumed that the credit granted has already normalized to pre-pandemic values”he underlined.
The average evolution of personal loans at Eurofinas was 23.53% to EUR 124,893 million, while car loans amounted to 8.33% to EUR 49,006 million.
Among ASFAC members, personal loans amounted to 1,993 million euros and car loans amounted to 1,062 million euros.
Source: DN
