President of the Colombian Banking Association and Financial Institutions (asobancaria), Hernando José Gómez spoke about the financial situation of Colombian households, and the result of the field was that Colombians manage their debts responsibly.
Gómez underlined the significant increase enjoyed by consumer and home loans, as portfolio growth was the highest in these two methods (12.8% and 12.7%, respectively) and payments increased by more than 50% in both methods. end of last year.
“Despite the crisis caused by Covid-19, the flow of credit continued to meet the needs of Colombian households. “The levels paid for consumer and home loans in 2021 have exceeded pre-pandemic levels, and default indicators are improving thanks to the culture of good payouts demonstrated by Colombians.”
One of the highlights was that the defaults in consumer and housing loans were at lower levels than before the pandemic. In case of consumption, the non-performing portfolio reached 4.4% of the total portfolio and is similar to 4.7% in December 2019; and in the case of housing, the indicator closed 2021 at 5.7%, one point below the December 2019 rate of 6.8%.
The percentage of their income they spend to pay off debt, also known as the financial burden, is close to 30%, far from the alarm levels of 40% and among the lowest among OECD countries.
Finally, Gómez made a series of recommendations for having healthy debts, among which the financial burden below 40% stands out; always go to official credit institutions to avoid lender risks such as ‘drop by drop’; know and compare different options on the market to choose the one that suits you best; and fulfill your obligations to avoid the problems of guilt.
Source: Lare Publica
