The Credit Stress Report 2023 Q3 is out

Quarter three 2023 shows small signs of positive developments in the consumer credit market

In addition to the good news on the rugby field, it would appear from Eighty20’s 2023 Q3 Credit Stress Report, that South Africans have also started to see some improvements in their financial circumstances.

It is early days, but the economic and credit indicators from quarter three highlighted a more positive outlook than they have in over a year. Here are five beacons of hope:

1. Inflation eased further to 5.0% from an average of 6.2% in the previous quarter
2. The unemployment rate dropped below 32% (31.9%), with the number of employed persons up by nearly 400 000
3. Consumer confidence and the Leading Indicator of the economy has moved upward
4. In the credit space, the percentage of loans in arrears has come down to 37.5%
5. The rate of new defaults across all loan products which has been steadily creeping up since 2022 Q1 trended down this quarter