Default in Brazil is the highest in the last twelve years

The percentage of Brazilian families in arrears, that is, with overdue bills, reached 29% in the first half of 2022. The percentage, disclosed on Tuesday (22), is the highest ever recorded since 2010, when the historical series of the survey conducted by the Federation of Commerce of Goods, Services and Tourism of the State of São Paulo (FecomercioSP) began. The index is measured in the capitals of the 27 Brazilian states.

According to the entity, the result shows that more than 4.9 million families in the capitals had an overdue account, almost 600 thousand more than in the same period last year, when 25.6% were in arrears.

Among the capitals with the highest delinquency rate are Belo Horizonte (43%), Boa Vista (42%) and Porto Alegre (41%). “A common point among the capitals with the highest rates of families with overdue accounts, which may explain part of this behavior, is the drop in family income between 2020 and 2022,” highlighted FecomercioSP in a note.

The federation reports that, at the end of the first half of 2022, the average income of families in the capitals fell 3.9% compared to the same period of 2020. The value, which was R$ 8,327 in June 2020, went to R$ 8,031 in June 2021 and to R$ 8,001 in 2022.

With the resumption of economic activity, the injection of resources from social programs and year-end bonus payments, as well as the beginning of the cycle of falling inflation, “expectations for the levels of delinquency, indebtedness and income tend to be less worrisome,” forecasts FecomercioSP.