SOUTH African consumers are financially stressed and defaulting on their debt repayments due to retrenchments and the situation is likely to worsen before it improves despite anticipated economic growth in 2021.
Despite a lot of negativity, including Moody’s downgrade last week, homeowners can still make a substantial difference to their bottom line. For instance, you can start making better lifestyle choices to lower your debt, says Adrian Goslett, chief executive of Re/Max of Southern Africa. “Do whatever it takes now because access to finance will become […]
Nokuthula Zwane SOUTH Africans have been warned to brace themselves for tough times in the new year. Debt Rescue chief executive Neil Roets has cautioned consumers to enjoy the festive season responsibly and not get in debt. He said major price increases are predicted for food and essential items due to the slow economic growth […]
THE guilty verdict against Lewis Stores for infringing the National Credit Act by the National Credit Regulator (NCR) was just the tip of the iceberg and many more listed and privately-held entities extending loans were guilty of these practices. Neil Roets, CEO of one of the largest credit management corporates in South Africa, said the […]
Judgment to benefit the poor Siseko Njobeni THE CONSTITUTIONAL Court judgment on garnishee orders was likely to reduce the risk appetite of lenders and could see “risky” individuals struggle to obtain finance, Fincheck chief executive, Michael Bowren said yesterday On Tuesday the court ruled that aspects of the enforcement of garnishee orders were unconstitutional. Various […]
DESPITE the practice being outlawed, reckless lending continues unabated – so much so that the National Consumer Tribunal (NCT) has received double the number of complaints. The tribunal dealt with 9 589 cases in 2014/15 and in the 2015/16 financial year this figure rocketed to 19 097. Over a three-year period, the tribunal’s case load […]
SOUTH AFRICANS are R1.64 trillion in debt and finding it very hard to get out of the trap. People aged between 31 and 45 collectively owe 53 percent of all outstanding debt. Most of the debt is for personal loans, less than a quarter have any money left after bills have been paid and 40 […]
TOUGH times lie ahead for hard-pressed South African consumers as fuel and electricity prices kick in this month. The Department of Energy on Friday announced increases in fuel prices, with effect from Wednesday. Petrol 95 and 93 will rise by 88c a litre and 86c a litre, respectively Diesel 0.05 percent and 0.005 percent would […]
Government revenues will, however, continue to remain vulnerable to a further deterioration in economic conditions IN ADDRESSING the persistent budget deficits, as expected, a combination of increased taxes and cost containment has been proposed, with forecasts of a reduction in the budget deficit to 2.4 percent in 2019. With respect to increased revenue, the implications […]
NEW VEHICLE and house sales, the two big ticket items of households, are set to be dented by the latest hike in interest rates and expected further rates increases this year. Azar Jammine, the chief economist at Econometrix, said on Friday that the 0.5 percentage point increase in interest rates by the Reserve Bank last […]
