Defaults have a drop before Unrolling, points out Serasa – 07/21/2023 – Market

Defaults in Brazil fell for the first time in 2023, according to a study carried out by Serasa Experian and released this Friday (21). The data refer to June and prior to the start of Desenrola Brasil, a government program aimed at renegotiating debts that began this week.

According to the study, there was a reduction of 450,000 people with debts compared to May. There are 71.45 million Brazilians in debt, a number close to that recorded in April, when 71.44 million were in this situation.

It is the first time in 2023 that the survey points to a drop compared to the previous month. The last time this had happened was in December 2022, the only month of last year when a decrease was recorded.

“Despite the still unfavorable economic scenario, with inflation and high interest rates, the first drop in defaults of the year represents significant data and may signal improvements in the financial health of consumers”, evaluates Aline Maciel, manager of Serasa Limpa Nome.

Serasa indicates that 34.8% of borrowers are between 41 and 60 years old, closely followed by people between 26 and 40 years old, who are 34.7%. Brazilians over 60 years old represent 18.1% of the total. Women are 50.3%, and men, 49.7%.

The average amount of debt per person is R$ 4,846.15, up 0.78% compared to May. The range of up to R$ 5,000 will be precisely what the government intends to contemplate in the next stage of Development and is scheduled to start in September.

This week, the so-called phase 2 of the program began, which is aimed at renegotiating bank debts and must be done directly between the customer and the bank, financial institution, cooperative or credit society.

The agreement is only allowed for those who entered the list of negatives from January 1, 2019 and remained on it until December 31, 2022. The person must earn between BRL 2,640 (two minimum wages) and BRL 20,000 monthly, will have a minimum period of 12 months to pay the debt, which can be paid in installments and have an interest rate to be defined by each bank.

The agreement is restricted to bank debts, with debts from other origins such as water, electricity and other services being negotiated. Those who join the program will also have their names cleared, if they have debts of up to R$100 made between 2019 and 2022. The measure must take place by the end of July and will be made by the banks after the agreement is reached.

Four states and DF have more than 50% debt

One of the numbers that draws attention in the Serasa survey is that four states and the Federal District have more than 50% of the adult population in debt.

Rio de Janeiro is the leader in percentage, with 52.80%. It is the only state in the Southeast in this situation, since São Paulo has 45.61%, Espírito Santo has 40.39% and Minas Gerais, 39.42%.

Amapá is the second state with the highest percentage of defaulters, with 52.72%, followed by Amazonas (52.2%), Federal District (52.05%) and Mato Grosso (50.33%). The Northeast and South regions do not have any state in this list.

On the other hand, the state with the least debt is Piauí, with 36.18%, followed by Santa Catarina (37.14%), Maranhão (38.82%), Rio Grande do Sul (39.22%), Paraíba (39.29%) and Minas Gerais.

Debts with banks and credit cards, targets of Desenrola at the moment, are the reasons that most led Brazilians to owe with 31.13%, but there was a drop in relation to May, when it reached 31.94% of the total. Basic bills such as water, electricity and gas are responsible for 22.07% and retail accounts for 11.44%.

Government expects to clear the name of up to 2.5 million

The Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, said this Monday (17th) that up to 2.5 million people could be removed from the dirty list, if all banks joined the program. Removing the name will allow the person to obtain other lines of credit or sign a lease, for example.

The denegativation of those who owe up to R$ 100 does not represent debt forgiveness, which will have to be paid. The customer who delays the payment will be charged and may return to the list of defaulters. Phase 2 agreements must be made by December 30, 2023, according to Febraban.

The government’s expectation is that 30 million people will be benefited in this first moment and that R$ 50 billion can be renegotiated.

Bradesco announced that it had cleared the names of 580,000 customers by Wednesday (21). Hours earlier, Caixa had announced that 225,000 people had left the list. At C6, there were over 456,000 Brazilians.

renegotiation efforts

To stimulate the renegotiation, Caixa is doing a task force this Friday for customers who wanted to seek an agreement and settle their debts. In addition to Caixa, more than ten banks made renegotiation channels available and large retailers in the country also joined Desenrola.

Serasa maintains the Serasa Limpa Nome platform for debt negotiation offers. In June, therefore before Desenrola, almost 2.9 million deals were closed by the platform, adding up to a total of BRL 6.2 billion in discounts that benefited 2.8 million customers. The number is the highest since March, when 4.1 million deals were closed.