Personal loans were the most impaired category of debt, with R29bn of personal loans overdue by more than 91 days, the Treasury’s chief director of financial sector conduct, Katherine Gibson, said on Wednesday. Total personal loan debt amounted to R165bn held in 5.7-million accounts, with mortgages of R875bn and accounts dominated by store and credit cards amounting to R221bn. According to figures of the National Credit Regulator (NCR) total credit owed by consumers as at December 2016 amounted to R1.7bn with unsecured credit amounting to R165bn and retailers owed R37.7bn. Gibson made a presentation to Parliament’s trade and industry committee, which is in the process of preparing draft legislation providing for debt relief for the heavily indebted. Various options of who should qualify for the relief as well as its terms and duration are under consideration. Gibson said the people under severe financial distress were those earning between R3,500 and R5,000 who could not afford debt...
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