Middle-income earners not coping with debt - SARB
The South African Reserve Bank says data showing that 70% of the average household monthly income of middle-income earners is spent on servicing debt, is an indication South Africans are not coping under the current economic climate.
The findings are contained in the Eighty20/XDS Credit Stress Report for the first quarter of 2023.
The report also shows the credit card balance of the so-called Mass Credit Market ballooned by R2.5 billion in the past year, an increase of 17%.
Those earning between R3 000 and R8 000 a month are also relying more on credit.
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Kuben Naidoo is the Deputy Governor of the South Africa Reserve Bank.
"It properly means that some people have too much debt relative to their earning potential and it is a big problem in society, people take on more and more debt.
"I think that the best thing consumers can do is to save, not to get into unnecessary debt, and to manage their finance as carefully and cautiously to put money away for a rainy day. It is a very scary picture."
