Belo Horizonte is the capital of the southeast with the highest proportion of people in debt. The loan rate for Belo Horizonte households has been gradually falling in recent months. Nevertheless, it reaches 92% of them. Furthermore, more than any other capital in the region, the people of Belo Horizonte accumulate debts in their special checks and notebooks, a possible sign of uncontrolled debt.
A survey by the Federation of Goods, Services and Tourism Commerce (Fecomercio MG) of the state of Minas Gerais shows that about 14.6% of households in Belo Horizonte have debt on special checks, more than double the number in any other city in the state. . , ranking, São Paulo, where the index does not reach 6%. The rate of people with booklet debt in BiH is 32.2%, higher than 15.2% in São Paulo.
Facomercio economist Gabriela Martins believes that debt is not bad in itself. The problem is default. “Debt allows people to access credit, maintain demand, and that’s great for families and commerce. The problem is when you can’t pay more”, he explains.
Economists point out that high rates of special checks and payment card use may be symptoms of serious debt: “If the person is on special checks, it means their income is not covering their expenses, which is worrisome, Because there is a lot of interest in this method.. In some cases, carnets are used by negative people who need credit.
One of the hypotheses explaining the high debt in BiH compared to other capitals is the population’s income, which is the lowest of the four, as Martins points out. In the second quarter of this year, according to the latest data from the Quarterly Continuous National Household Sample Survey (PNADCT), it was R$4,317. The highest was in São Paulo, R$5,057. Economists at Facomercio MG ask, “How is the financial education of our population?”
She points out that, for example, when planning, overdraft is not always a villain. Since it typically has lower interest rates than revolving credit cards, it can be used to pay off card bills, for example. “It is to replace expensive debt with less expensive debt. But, when a person uses an overdraft in a month, there will be new invoices for the overdraft the next month, covering basic expenses, plus interest”, he warned.