Overview
- April data from consultora 1816, using BCRA records, show household loan irregularity climbed to 12%, which the report estimates affects about 5.3 million people.
- Corporate stress is rising too, with delinquent debt at 3.3% by outstanding amount and 13.5% of firms in arrears, and several provinces reporting business default rates above 10%.
- Nonbank lenders are under the most strain, with a 31.5% irregularity rate in April, and 26 of the 30 largest household-lending institutions saw mora increase month to month.
- Lenders keep active annual rates high — around a 66.9% TNA for personal bank loans in early May — while real private lending continued to contract, limiting new credit supply.
- Because credit penetration is low at roughly 12% of GDP, the surge in defaults mainly blocks borrowers from future finance, cuts consumption and raises funding costs for firms ahead of next year’s elections.