Published September 14, 2023, 6:50 am ET
TORONTO – Credit card balances hit an all-time high of $107.4 billion in the second quarter of 2023, according to Equifax Canada, a sign that financial stress continued to intensify amid inflation and rising interest rates.
According to the agency, total debt among Canadian consumers reached $2.4 trillion in the second quarter.
Rebecca Oakes, vice president of advanced analytics, says the growth in non-mortgage debt is largely driven by significant growth in credit card balances and a significant increase in debt among subprime and deep subprime customers.
According to Equifax Canada’s report, the average non-mortgage debt per credit-active consumer increased slightly to $21,131.
Oakes said despite rising credit card debt, credit card delinquencies are not rising as quickly as expected, due in part to the influx of new credit card users, which has also contributed to the growth in overall non-mortgage debt.
According to Equifax Canada, many Canadians are curbing their credit card spending, but lower-income households are having a harder time reining in their spending and fewer consumers were able to pay off their monthly credit card balances in full in the second quarter.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2023.
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