NCR reports on credit impairment levels
Credit bureaus create consumer credit profiles based on credit information received from credit providers. The National Credit Regulator (NCR) regulates and monitors registered credit bureaus and the quality of their data. The NCR latest report indicates that the number of consumers with impaired credit records continued to increase.
"The credit bureau statistics reported for the quarter ended June 2010 indicates a further moderate growth in the levels of impairment", said Gabriel Davel, CEO of the National Credit Regulator.
As at the end of June 2010, credit bureaus had records for 18.32 million credit-active consumers. Of the 18.32 million credit-active consumers, 53.1% (9.73m) were classified as in good standing.
The number of consumers with impaired records continued to increase reaching 8.59 million this quarter. This indicated a deterioration in the credit records of 212 000 consumers quarter-on-quarter and 739 000 year-on-year. Adverse listings contributed more in this category as compared to the categories of "three or more months in arrears" and judgments.
26.1% of accounts are impaired
In terms of accounts the number of impaired accounts increased by 292 000, to 17.06 million. This means that 26.1% of accounts are impaired. This is an increase of 0.2% from 25.9% in March 2010.
A total of 135.34 million enquiries were made on consumer credit records, an increase of 8.4% quarter-on-quarter and 10.9% year-on-year. Of the total enquiries made on consumer records, enquiries from banks and other financial institutions accounted for 38.7%, enquiries from retailers accounted for 16.5% and enquiries from telecommunications providers accounted for 23.3%.
The number of credit reports issued to consumers decreased to 70 706. Of the total credit reports issued, 84.0% (59 220) were issued without charge, and the remaining 16.0% (11 486) were issued with charge. There were 13 300 disputes lodged on information held on consumer credit records for the quarter ended June 2010, which was an increase of 6.1% quarter-on-quarter and 86.7% year-on-year.
Comparisons in this release - 'quarter-on-quarter' refers to a comparison between the June 2010 and March 2010 quarters, and 'year-on-year' refers to a comparison between the June 2010 and June 2009 quarters.
