Consumer credit reaches a new record in November

  • ECO News
  • 15 January 2018

Credit institutions lent around 654 million euros in consumer credit in November of 2017. It is a record amount in over four years.

Consumer credit keeps accelerating, a particularly noticeable movement in the month before Christmas. In November, banks and credit institutions granted almost 654 million euros in consumer credit — a record amount, according to data disclosed this Monday by the Bank of Portugal. The total amount granted in the first 11 months of 2017 already surpasses the previous year’s total.

In November, banks granted 634.89 million euros. This is a 5.3% increase in comparison to 622.1 million euros from the previous month, as well as a maximum in the history of the entity headed by Carlos Costa, which goes back to the beginning of 2013.

This increase took place in a typically busy month of Christmas shopping, which can justify the acceleration, but it is also a continuance of a trend. As Portugal’s economy improves, families are also more keen on making a financial commitment to a credit. This acceleration has been seen especially on personal credit without specific purpose and car credit, which reached a new record in November: 279.1 million euros and 267.2 million euros, respectively. Both these purposes correspond to 80% of the total consumer credit granted.

All throughout 2017, until November, 6.1 billion euros were granted in consumer credit. It is a 15% increase in comparison to the homologous period (5.3 billion euros), with the total amount of money granted in 2017 already surpassing all of the global amount of 2016.