In 2025, the market for the sale of non-performing loan (NPL) portfolios in Brazil will continue to gain momentum. Desenrola Brasil is one of the drivers. Launched in July 2023 and ending in May 2024, the programme created by the federal government has helped more than 15 million people and reduced defaults among the most vulnerable segment of the Brazilian population.

Although it encouraged financial institutions to negotiate debts with incentives covered by the Operations Guarantee Fund (FGO), Desenrola also created counterparts. In order to ensure the return of the amounts covered by the FGO, Law 14.690 (of 3 October 2023), which established Desenrola Brasil, provides for the holding of auctions of debt portfolios that are still in default.

In practice, this means that all financial institutions that have drawn on the FGO’s resources must auction off defaulted loan portfolios in order to recover these amounts. As provided for in Law 14,690, the auction follows the rules of the Ministry of Finance and is not related to the financial health of the financial institutions licensed under Desenrola Brasil.

According to a survey carried out by Recovery, a company of the Itaú Group and leader in the purchase and management of non-performing loans in Brazil, eight financial institutions participating in Desenrola have already held auctions to sell NPL portfolios. This list includes Banco do Brasil, BMG, Bradesco, Inter, Itaú, Nubank, Pan and Sicoob.

For clients who managed to negotiate a debt under Desenrola Brasil, but didn’t have enough funds to pay it, it is important to note that the debt remains in force, even if there is an auction. In this case, the change is that the debt will no longer be negotiated with the institution that carried out the transaction under Desenrola. The default will have to be negotiated with the company that won the auction, which will take over the management of the defaulted portfolio and will be responsible for helping people to settle their debts once and for all, taking advantage of the offer negotiated at Desenrola.

IFRS 9 In addition to the obligation to auction defaulted loans negotiated at Desenrola Brasil, financial institutions may have another incentive to sell overdue portfolios. In January this year, the international accounting standard IFRS 9 came into force, which changes the way in which provisions for doubtful debts, a balance sheet item known by the acronym PDD, are presented. In practice, these provisions correspond to the amounts that financial institutions must set aside to cover potential defaults on loans and financing.

The growth of the NPL market in Brazil has skyrocketed in the last five years and it is expected that the volume traded in 2025 will exceed the 2024 figure of around R$30 billion.

The expansion of the market for the sale of credit assets also acts as fuel for the engine of the economy, as it facilitates the recovery of clients’ financial health and, consequently, their appetite for more credit.

The executive also notes that in Brazil, more and more companies other than the big banks have become assignors, i.e. they participate in the market for the sale of credit assets so that they can get these amounts back into their cash flow more quickly, leaving it to credit recovery companies such as Recovery to collect the amounts from the debtors. Digital banks, co-operatives and retailers, for example, are some of those who are betting on this strategy to have liquidity,” he says.

Source: Monitor Mercantil | Author: Redação
Edition and translation: Prime Yield
Photo: Orlando Sant’Anna for Unsplashed

The percentage of Brazilian families who say they have debts that are due, such as credit cards, overdrafts, shop bills, personal loans or car and house payments, among others, continues to fall, reaching 76.1% in January this year. This is a fall of 0.6 percentage points compared to December 2024 and 2 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

The figures come from the Consumer Indebtedness and Default Survey (Peic), organised by the National Confederation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC). The data for the study were collected from all the state capitals and the Federal District. and the Federal District, with around 18,000 consumers.

According to the authors of the study, the downward trend “highlights the caution of consumers in taking on debt at a time of high interest rates and a tendency for further increases”. This is borne out by the number of families who said they felt ‘very indebted’, which reached 15.9 per cent, the highest level since September 2024. On the other hand, the number of those who said they had ‘no debt’ of this kind rose to 23.9 per cent.

On the positive side of this greater concern, the proportion of families with debts in arrears fell to 29.1 per cent, down from 29.3 per cent in December. However, the figure for January this year is higher than that for January 2024, which was 28.3 per cent.

On the other hand, the proportion of families who said they were unable to pay their outstanding debts fell for the first time since July last year, to 12.7 per cent. This is lower than the 13 per cent recorded in December 2024, but higher than the 12 per cent recorded in January last year.

According to the CNC, the figures are a ‘warning sign for the economy in 2025′. This view was expressed by the president of the CNC-Sesc-Senac system, José Roberto Tadros, in a statement issued by the organisation. High interest rates and selective credit mean that consumers are trying to take on less debt and, as a negative effect, are increasing their perception of indebtedness.  The slight improvement in delinquency shows that Brazilian households have made an effort to balance their finances, but the growing commitment of income is a warning sign for the economy in 2025,’ he says.

The Consumer Indebtedness and Delinquency Survey also shows that consumers are managing to pay their overdue bills more quickly, with the percentage of households with debts overdue by more than 90 days falling to 48.9 per cent in January, the third consecutive month of decline.

However, the number of consumers with more than half their income tied up in debt rose to 20.8 per cent, the highest since May 2024, bringing the average income tied up in debt to 30 per cent in January.

Despite the improvement in payment times, debt is consuming a greater proportion of household income, partly due to the reduction in payment terms. Nevertheless, the proportion of families in debt for more than a year fell for the first time since May 2024, reaching 35.9 per cent.

For the authors of the study, the rise in interest rates is restricting credit and forcing consumers to devote more of their income to debt repayments, which is exacerbating the feeling of indebtedness.

The CNC predicts that household indebtedness is likely to increase this year, as families will need to borrow for consumption despite high interest rates. This should keep defaults at a low level in 2025, according to the organisation’s analysis.

The CNC’s survey revealed which debts are the most recurring for Brazilian families. Credit cards top the list, followed by bills, personal loans and home loans.

Original Story: Estadão
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

The latest survey by Serasa shows that at least 73.10 million people in Brazil are in debt. The figures are for October and are the second highest of the year, after the figure recorded in April. For the organisation, the figure is an indication that the number of people in arrears is increasing.

According to the survey, Brazilians between the ages of 41 and 60 represent the largest share of the population with a restricted name, at 35.1 per cent. This is followed by the 26 to 40 age group (34.0 per cent), the over 60s (19.2 per cent) and young people aged 18 to 25 (11.8 per cent).

Original Story: Agência Brasil | Author: Flávia Albuquerque
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

The sale of non-performing loans (NPL) portfólios reached a total of 7.7 billion reais in the third quarter of 2024, a result 64% higher than in the second quarter, when it reached 4.7 billion reais. The data comes from a survey carried out by Recovery, a company in the segment belonging to the Itaú Group.

Compared to the same period in 2023, when 5 billion reais were sold, the result in the third quarter was 54% higher, which indicates that credit assignments were dammed with the arrival of the federal government’s Desenrola programme in the third quarter of 2023, according to the company’s analysis.

In 2024, the NPL market will record a total of 17.4 billion reais in non-performing portfolios sold.

Original Story: Veja Negócios | Author: Felipe Erlich
Translation and Edition: Prime Yield

Recovery, an Itaú Group company and leader in the purchase and management of non-performing loans in Brazil, released its balance sheet for the first half of this year. According to the company’s survey, the sale of non-performing portfolios totalled R$9.7 billion in the first half of the year, with more than R$4.7 billion in the second quarter alone.

‘Within the NPL market, some segments have been standing out, including credit card debts, debts from digital banks and fintechs, and vehicle financing. It’s worth emphasising that these figures fluctuate over the months and years due to various factors related to the economy. It’s a natural market movement,’ explains Plínio, head of Commercial and Portfolio Acquisition at Recovery.

Looking at the market for the sale of delinquent portfolios, with a focus on credit card debts, this reached R$3.5 billion from January to June this year, R$2 billion of which between April and June alone. ‘Credit card debts are the most representative in the market for the assignment of delinquent portfolios because they reflect the general scenario of Brazilian indebtedness. The ease of contracting this type of credit and the high interest rates drive this indebtedness,’ comments Ribeiro.

The digital banks and fintechs segment, on the other hand, recorded R$1 billion and R$0.5 billion, respectively, in the first half of this year and in the first quarter. ‘These banks are making more and more progress in approving credit and this ends up causing their debt rates to rise as well. The credit assignment market is undoubtedly a way for these new banks to gain liquidity and have a healthier operation. I believe that these banks should increasingly access the assignment market,’ says the expert.

Debts from the vehicle sector totalled R$1.2 billion in the first half of the year and R$0.8 billion in the second quarter alone.

Original Story: BNews | Author: Verônica Macedo
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

Some of Brazil’s biggest fund managers are taking a step back from the country’s booming market for local corporate debt. 

Part of the caution comes from the fact the central bank just began raising interest rates — an outlier, hiking just hours after the Federal Reserve cut borrowing costs in the US. The tighter conditions for borrowers add worry to what traders see as a massive compression of spreads, making the assets far less appealing, especially for higher-quality borrowers investors are crowding in to. 

The spread is already so low that Alexandre Muller, a credit portfolio manager at JGP Asset Management, has stopped raising money for 95% of his credit funds. 

“We closed the funds to preserve the quality of our invested portfolios, avoiding a dilution of spreads due to too much cash or new issuances with very low premiums,” Muller, said in an interview. JGP has 35 billion reais ($6.4 billion) under management.

Yields on Brazil’s local currency corporate bonds have fallen by almost a third in just over a year to an average 170 basis points over the interbank interest rate, known as DI. That’s down 80 points since August 2023, according to data from JGP. Spreads on AAA-rated debt slumped about 70 basis points to 80 points over the same period, separate data from Sparta Fundo de Investimentos show. 

The higher costs abroad and newfound appetite for local debt at longer maturities have boosted the appeal of sales at home, where double-digit interest rates keep investors focused on fixed-income products. Brazilian companies issued a record 207 billion reais ($36.8 billion) of local bonds in the first half of the year. That’s up 164% from the year earlier. Hard-currency corporate bond sales, meanwhile, came in at around $10 billion for the same period, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

“The Brazilian capital market has recently seen a surge in the debt issuance volume caused by a change in the dynamics of the market and high interest rates,” said Conor Hennebry, global head of Corporate Debt at Santander CIB. “The weak equity market lost traction and caused inflows to the debt market. This shift, along with the high liquidity from dedicated funds and investors, allowed spreads to compress.”

While it’s grown exponentially in size in the past few years — the stock of local currency corporate bonds, known as debentures, is around $200 billion, almost double the $106 billion for hard-currency notes — Brazil’s local debt market remains dominated by local players, with a large part of the trades happening over-the-counter.

‘Unique’

For Sergey Dergachev, head of emerging-market corporate debt at Union Investment Privatfonds GmbH in Frankfurt, it’s part of the dynamic of local corporate debt in emerging markets broadly. 

“It’s a very unique asset class,” he said. “It’s around 3.5 times bigger in market cap than hard currency EM corporate debt, but foreign investor presence is almost negligible due to different bankruptcy laws, different tax treatment vs. local EM sovereign debt and different liquidity situation as well as settlement procedures.”

Among the locals, JGP isn’t alone in stepping back. SulAmerica Investimentos is also closing some corporate debt funds and limiting fund-raising for others as spreads narrow, said CEO Marcelo Mello. SulAmerica is the asset management arm of one of Brazil’s largest insurance companies, and has around 76 billion reais under management. 

“We think there will be a repricing, so we have a more defensive strategy” with increased cash positions, Mello said. “Spreads are very thin, so there will be no more demand. An adjustment may be healthy.”

High-grade only

Investors are crowding into the few high-grade names available, as the high-yield debt market remains bruised following the accounting fraud scandal and subsequent default at the retailer Americanas SA in early 2023. 

“Our strategy for the coming months will be based on a main pillar: high selectivity in the choice of assets,” Sparta said in a monthly statement that cited the compressed spreads. The firm, which oversees about 15 billion reais, plans to maintain “a higher cash level and shorten the duration of the portfolio.”

Structured products, such as securitized debt instruments, are also luring investors scouring for higher returns. Others are looking for new names and expanding areas of coverage. 

But the boom has also led to the emergence of pockets of trouble, such as rising defaults in the agribusiness sector. Fiagros, investment funds backed by agricultural receivables, have been stung by growers going bankrupt at alarming rates as corn and soybean prices tumbled. 

“Fund managers today are thirsting for assets, but I don’t want to be pressured to allocate for the sake of allocating,” said Vivian Lee, Co-Chief Investment Officer and head of credit at Ibiuna Investimentos, which oversees about 19.5 billion reais. When debt sales are booming, “you need to have the discipline to stay as a spectator” if spreads fall too low, she said.

Original Story: BNN Bloomberg | Author: Giovanna Bellotti Azevedo
Edition: Prime Yield

Brazil’s instant payment system Pix is seen surpassing credit cards as the leader in the local online purchase market as soon as next year, earlier than initially expected, a new study from Brazilian payments firm Ebanx showed.

Pix was launched by Brazil’s central bank at the end of 2020, quickly becoming one of the most used tools for money transfers or purchases as it offers mostly free and instantly-settled transactions.

The study, which is based on data from research and intelligence firm PCMI, showed Pix is expected to account for 44% of Brazil’s online payment market by the end of 2025, while credit cards were seen with a 41% slice.

A previous version of the study released earlier this year had projected Pix to nearly match credit cards in the local online market only by the end of 2026.

Ebanx director of country growth for Latin America Juliana Etcheverry told Reuters that Pix has led a financial inclusion approach that encouraged more merchants to offer the instant payment method.

“It’s a chicken-and-egg scenario, a virtuous cycle,” she told Reuters.

According to the central bank, by late 2022 some 71.5 million Brazilians had been included in the financial system through Pix.

Its growth between retail and travel sectors in the digital market also explains the greater outlook for Pix, Etcheverry said.

Brazil’s central bank is expected to launch new Pix features in the next years, including the option to pay through installments, that could make it more of a threat to credit cards.

According to Etcheverry, some former credit card users are already switching to Pix.

The outlook for credit cards did not change much from the previous study, with both predicting a decline from the 49% share of the e-commerce market they had in 2023.

Still, Etcheverry does not believe Pix will end up killing cards. “The cards industry is also investing in protocols, in features that would also make them keep growing in the market.”

Original Story: Yahoo Finance | Author: Reuters | Date: 03.09.2024
Edition: Prime Yield

Default affects 41.25 per cent of Brazil’s adult population, or 67.98 million consumers. The figure refers to the July 2024 indicator of the National Confederation of Shopkeepers (CNDL) and the Credit Protection Service (SPC Brasil). The percentage of defaulters also increased by 0.38 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The most significant number of debtors in July was in the 30 to 39 age group (23.67 per cent). According to the estimate, there are 16.77 million people registered as debtors in this age group, which means that half (49.31 per cent) of Brazilians in this age group are in debt.

In July, each negative consumer owed an average of R$4,358.95 in all their debts. In addition, each defaulter owed an average of 2.10 creditor companies, considering all these debts.

The number of debts in arrears in July grew by 2.25 per cent compared to the same period in 2023. The figure for the seventh month of this year was higher than the annual variation seen in the previous month. Even so, from June to July, the number of debts fell by -0.57%.

Original Story: Exclusivo | Author: Michel Pozzebon
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

The default rate on credit cards, overdrafts, personal loans and other types of consumer credit should fall to 5.42% in July, according to a forecast by the Brazilian Institute of Retail & Consumer Market Executives (Ibevar) and the FIA Business School.

This figure represents a fall of 0.15 percentage points (p.p.) compared with the last real figure published in May 2024, and is an average within the range of 5.13% to 5.7% calculated taking into account a reduction in payment arrears calculated by the Central Bank (BC) – those exceeding 90 days.

In June, the National Confederation of Commerce (CNC) calculated that the percentage of Brazilians in debt remained at 78.8%, which, according to the organisation, indicates a stabilisation in the demand for credit by families.

However, the number of families that were late with their bills, as recorded by the Central Bank, reached the highest percentage since 2024, the CNC said.

Original Story: CNN Brazil | Author: Marien Ramos
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

The total number of defaulters in Brazil remained at 68.76 million in May, repeating April’s result – the highest in the survey’s historical series. This figure represents 41.79 per cent of adult Brazilians. Compared to the same month last year, the percentage of defaulters in Brazil fell slightly by 0.04 per cent. The data comes from the National Confederation of Shopkeepers (CNDL) and the Credit Protection Service (SPC Brasil).

“Unforeseen circumstances, a reduction in income and a lack of control over the budget are major reasons for default and the priority ends up being to pay those bills that have had their services cut off, such as internet, telephone, water and electricity,” says CNDL president José César da Costa.

The survey, based on information from the capitals and inland cities of all 26 Brazilian states, as well as the Federal District, shows that people aged between 30 and 39 account for the largest proportion of debtors, at 23.69 per cent. As for the gender of defaulters, women account for 51.14 per cent and men 48.86 per cent.

When all outstanding debts are added together, the average debt of defaulters is R$4,445.19. According to the data, each negative consumer owed an average of 2.10 creditor companies. The figures also show that almost three out of every ten consumers (30.70 per cent) had debts of up to R$500, a percentage that rises to 44.72 per cent when it comes to amounts of up to R$1,000.

Original Story: Mercado e Consumo | Data: 19.06.2024
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

In a country that can’t stop having less than 70 million people with their names on the books of SPC Brasil and Serasa, the volume negotiated in the NPL (Non Performing Loans) market, i.e. the sale of defaulted portfolios by ceding companies, is expected to reach R$60 billion by 2024.

And depending on the performance of the Desenrola Brasil programme (the non-payment of the instalments of the negotiated agreements), this figure could rise even further, with more defaulted portfolios possibly being put up for sale at the end of this year.

The sale of defaulted portfolios by ceding companies ended the first three months of the year with R$18 billion in credit made available.

According to a survey carried out by Recovery, an Itaú Group company that is a leader in credit recovery in Brazil, the figures for 2024 represent growth over the first quarter of 2022, when the balance available to the market was R$14.5 billion, an increase of 28%.

Recovery manages more than R$150 billion in defaulted loans and currently has more than 35 million clients with active debts. In other words, just over half the number of people registered with Serasa.

Also according to Serasa, of the total debts of delinquent consumers negatived in January this year, 59.7% (or 6 out of 10) were regularised or renegotiated within 60 days of the reference month.

The data comes from Serasa Experian’s Credit Recovery Indicator and also shows that accounts worth more than R$10,000 were the most successful, with 70.8 per cent of payments.

The number of defaulters in the country increased further in April 2024, compared to April 2023, and reached 68.76 million Brazilians.

The indicator carried out by the National Confederation of Shopkeepers (CNDL) and the Credit Protection Service (SPC Brasil) shows that four out of ten adult Brazilians (41.82 per cent) were in debt in April 2024.

And this greater indebtedness is also evident in micro-enterprises and MEIs. For example, the strong growth in productive microcredit combined with the increase in the number of informal entrepreneurs and the lack of financial knowledge can create a problem for those who wish to have their own business: debt.

In the last three years, up to December 2023, the number of loans released rose by 45% and, from December 2019 to the end of last year, the average value of the loans requested registered a real gain of 16.79%.

Original Story: JC Negócios – UOL | Author: Fernando Castilho
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

The Treasury says the result was ‘great’; in the market, however, the impression is that the programme has not reached its potential.

The Desenrola Brasil programme ended Monday with results below potential, although the figures are considered significant by the Ministry of Finance and analysts. Updated figures show that almost 15 million people benefited from the renegotiation of R$52.42 billion in debts in all phases of the programme.

The potential was to reach around 30 million just in the phase with a guarantee from the National Treasury, considered a priority by the government, in which around 5 million consumers took part.

Targeted by the initiative, the ‘negative’ public remained at around 70 million, but the economic team and experts believe that the programme has halted the worsening in general default. In terms of bank debts, the percentage of arrears of more than 90 days fell by 1 percentage point for those earning up to two minimum salaries – compared to a fall of 0.4 percentage points for the average individual, between July 2023 and February.

The Ministry of Finance argues that the programme had ‘great’ results, especially considering the low commitment of public money. In the market, however, the impression is that it didn’t reach its potential, especially the part aimed at the low-income population, with a Treasury guarantee, where debts had an average discount of 83 per cent.

Campaign promise

Among the reasons for the frustration, financial sector executives cite access difficulties and communication problems. But there is an understanding that, after the adjustments, only those who didn’t want to clear their name with Desenrola didn’t.

A campaign promise by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Desenrola was launched in July 2023 to settle debts contracted between 2019 and 2022 and impacted by the pandemic. Initially, it was due to end in December, but Track 1, for the low-income population, was extended twice.

At the start, participating banks cleared the names of customers who had debts of up to R$100 – benefiting 7 million people. At the same time, financial institutions began renegotiating bank debts with their own customers with monthly incomes of up to R$20,000. In this modality, 3 million people negotiated liabilities of R$26.5 billion – R$2.1 billion after discounts.

Finally, in October, the most eagerly awaited phase was launched, Track 1, aimed at the low-income population, with a Treasury guarantee in the event of default. In this stage, in addition to bank debts, debts such as electricity and water bills, educational fees or retail purchases were included.

This option was available until Monday for people who earn up to two minimum wages or are registered on the government’s Single Registry for social programmes, with debts of up to R$20,000. The instalment conditions are special: up to 60 months, with interest of up to 1.99% per month. R$8 billion was made available for the Operations Guarantee Fund (FGO), in order to guarantee any default.

On average, the discounts were 83% for a stock of R$151 billion in debts registered in the system, from 654 creditors. The potential was to reach 32 million people. Of these, 4.93 million took part in this phase of the programme, reducing liabilities from R$24.91 billion to R$3.6 billion so far. R$1.7 billion has been used up from the FGO.

«For the vast majority of people in debt, Desenrola was a great opportunity. It was a chance to rebuild their credit score for the market», summarises Rafael Baldi, director of Products at Febraban.

The most negotiated debt was related to credit cards, such as revolving credit cards, accounting for 44 per cent of agreements. The average discount for this segment was 96 per cent. The law that created Desenrola limited the amount of interest to 100 per cent of the original amount as of January this year.

«If we look at the programme as a whole, it’s a great result with minimal public resources, with great gains in regulation and cooperation between the players to enable this result» said Quênio França, Programme Director at the Ministry of Finance, highlighting the ‘innovative’ experience of bringing together banks, more than 600 creditors and a billion-dollar debt universe.

Impact of fake news

Part of the public preferred to pay cash. Of the R$14.2 billion in debts negotiated directly on the Desenrola website, R$3.1 billion were paid on the spot. In addition, the director explained that there were agreements reached through other channels. According to Serasa, negotiations on its own platform increased by almost 10 per cent during Desenrola compared to the same period last year, to 33 million.

«We do see it as a programme that worked. Of course it wasn’t going to get 72 million people out of default, but it did manage to help several families» said Aline Maciel, Serasa’s manager.

Original Story: O Globo | Author: Thais Barcelos
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

The number of defaulters in Brazil ended the first quarter of the year up 4.5% compared to the same period in 2023, according to data from Boa Vista. However, on a monthly basis, the indicator fell by 0.46 per cent in March compared to February in the seasonally adjusted series, marking the eighth consecutive decline.

In the original data series, the indicator slowed from 3.0 per cent in February to 2.1 per cent in March 2024.

This was the eighth consecutive decline in the indicator, which was already expected given the improvement in the underlying factors from month to month, especially the employment figures,’ says Boa Vista economist Flávio Calife.

Boa Vista’s Credit Recovery Indicator increased by 11.83 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter of 2023. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the indicator expanded by 0.46 per cent in March, and on a 12-month cumulative analysis, it fell from 20.6 per cent in February to 19.7 per cent in March.

Credit recovery has shown strong growth in recent months, driven by the improvement in consumers’ financial conditions, with an increase in real income and a reduction in debt, as well as the debt renegotiations provided by the Desenrola programme,’ adds Calife.

Original Story: Infomoney
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

Brazilians were both more indebted and more in arrears between February and March, according to the National Confederation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC).

The proportion of families with overdue bills rose from 77.9 per cent in February to 78.1 per cent in March, according to the Consumer Indebtedness and Default Survey (Peic). However, the result is still lower than a year earlier, in March 2023, when 78.3 per cent of households were in debt.

“This result shows an increased demand for credit by families, taking advantage of lower interest costs,” the CNC said in its release of the study.

For the purposes of the survey, debt is defined as accounts payable in the form of credit cards, overdrafts, store bills, payroll loans, personal loans, post-dated cheques and car and house payments.

Delinquency

After five consecutive months of decline, the proportion of consumers with overdue bills rose from 28.1 per cent in February to 28.6 per cent in March. In March, the proportion of households in arrears was higher at 29.4 per cent.

“This increase in arrears is also reflected in the increase in the proportion of families who will not be able to pay their debts, which is the most complex group of defaulters, but with a difference of only 0.1 percentage points and in this case already exceeds the indicator for the same month last year,” the CNC said.

The proportion of families who said they were unable to pay their debts and therefore remained in arrears rose from 11.9 per cent in February to 12.0 per cent in March. The result is still higher than in March 2023, when 11.5 per cent were in this situation.

“In order to increase their disposable income, families have been trying to extend the deadline for paying off their debts. So much so that the time spent in debt reached 7.1 months in March 2023, the highest level since April 2022,” said CNC economist Izis Ferreira in a statement.

Poorer people drive up debt and defaults

From February to March, the increase in debt and defaults was driven by lower income families. In the group with a monthly family income of up to three minimum wages, the proportion of people in debt rose from 79.2 per cent in February to 79.7 per cent in March.

In the lower middle class, with incomes between three and five minimum wages, the proportion of people in debt fell from 79.5 per cent in February to 79.3 per cent in March. In the group earning between five and ten minimum wages, there was a fall from 75.8 per cent to 75.0 per cent. In the group earning more than 10 minimum monthly wages, the share remained stable at 71.4 per cent.

In terms of arrears, the proportion of families in arrears in the group with a monthly family income of up to three minimum wages rose from 35.8 per cent in February to 36.4 per cent in March.

In the lower middle class, with incomes between three and five minimum wages, the proportion of defaulters remained at 26.0 per cent in March, the same as in February. In the group earning between five and ten minimum wages, there was an increase from 20.5 per cent in February to 20.7 per cent in March. In the group earning more than 10 minimum monthly wages, the proportion of defaulters fell from 14.6 per cent to 14.3 per cent.

Original Story: Isto é Dinheiro
Translation and Edition: Prime Yield

Axios Capital, a holding company that owns an investment bank, a securitisation company and a business consultancy based in Poços de Caldas (MG), has announced the creation of a fund aimed at negotiating debt in the rural sector based on NPLs (non-performing loans). The fund, called Axios Special Situations I, is starting with an investment of around R$70 million, but the aim is to build up an initial capital of R$200 million.

The assets, backed by rural property guarantees, will be accumulated through the interest of professional investors, individuals and companies, with average contributions of R$10 million per shareholder. Axios is counting on the financial partnership of Stark Investment Bank, based in São Paulo (SP), a digital bank with R$2.5 billion under negotiation and R$600 million in completed transactions, according to the institution.

“Our thesis is to invest in distressed debt with a high degree of asymmetry, with the possibility of buying the assets at a significant discount and with solid coverage,” says Hugo Lopes de Barros, co-founder and CEO of Axios Group. According to the Central Bank, NPLs across all sectors of the economy in Brazil currently exceed R$400 billion in overdue debt.

In its current operations, Axios allocates 70 per cent of its investments to non-performing loans and single names, with guarantees and realisable assets guarantees and realisable equity valued at 150 per cent of the amount invested – which, in its new fund, will be backed by the value of forced sales of rural properties and other assets. The other 30 per cent of investments will normally be used to acquire judicial assets in special situations, distressed real estate assets, distressed real estate assets (i.e. overdue bank loans), credit rights (i.e. overdue bank loans), credit rights, precatórios, pre-precatórios and other lawsuits of this nature, all with final judgements.

Edition and translation: Prime Yield
Original Story: Forbes Brazil
Photo: Axios

Default rates are at their lowest level in 22 months. This is indicated by a monthly survey carried out by the National Confederation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC). The percentage of households in arrears closed January at 28.3%, the lowest level since March 2022.

And defaults fell more among lower-income families. The survey registered a drop of more than 3 percentage points year-on-year; 35% of families with an income of up to 3 minimum wages are in default. Despite finding it more difficult to pay, almost 30% of these consumers believe they are little in debt.

Felipe Tavares, CNC’s chief economist, believes that the figures show a positive scenario for lower-income families in 2024.

With regard to debt, 78% of families reported having debts due in January, an increase of 0.5 percentage points compared to December.

Original Story: Agência Brasil | Author: Fabiana Sampaio
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

Brazilians became more indebted between November and December 2023, while defaults improved slightly, according to the National Confederation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC). On an annual average, indebtedness fell in 2023 for the first time since 2019, while defaults peaked at almost a third of the population, the organisation said in its Consumer Indebtedness and Default Survey (Peic).

The proportion of households with overdue bills rose from 76.6% in November to 77.6% in December 2023. However, the result is still lower than a year earlier, in December 2022, when 78.0% of households were in debt.

“Indebtedness is fundamental to economic development, as credit is the springboard of the capitalist system,” CNC chief economist Felipe Tavares said in an official statement. “Default is a negative consequence of indebtedness, caused by the low income of Brazilians and the volatility of the country’s economy,” he added.

For the purposes of the survey, debt is defined as accounts due in the form of credit cards, overdrafts, store bills, payroll loans, personal loans, post-dated cheques, and car and house payments.

“The increase in indebtedness in the last month raises a point of attention in relation to the indebtedness of Brazilian families, given the high percentage of indebted families. Despite the high percentage of indebted families, family debt as a percentage of GDP is around 30%, which is not a high percentage compared to the US market, where family debt represents 73% of US GDP,” the CNC study added.

The proportion of consumers with overdue bills fell from 29.0% in November to 28.8% in December 2023. In December 2022, the share of delinquent households was higher at 30.0%.

The proportion of families who said they were unable to pay their arrears and therefore remained in arrears fell from 12.5% in November to 12.2% in December 2023. This is still higher than in December 2022, when 11.3% were in this situation.

Annual average

In 2023, the annual debt rate stood at 77.8% of the population, just 0.1 percentage points lower than in 2022.

“The decrease in the overall Peic indicator, although small, represents a victory in relation to the worrying evolution of household indebtedness,” says the CNC report, stressing, however, that eight out of ten Brazilians still have debt in their name.

The annual default rate will rise from 28.9% in 2022 to 29.5% in 2023. The average proportion of those who said they were unable to pay their outstanding debts also rose, from 10.7% to 12.1% over the period.

“This confirms the importance of well-structured debt renegotiation programmes, such as Desenrola, which is already showing results, with a fall in this indicator in the last quarter of the year, from 13% in October to 12.2% in December last year,” the CNC defended.

Original Story: UOL | Estadão Conteúdo
Translation: Prime Yield
Photo: Free Images /BrunoNeves