Subdued growth in the value of outstanding credit balances in the South African household sector continued up to May 2015, with year-on-year (y/y) growth that remained in a relatively narrow band for the past ten months. Growth of 3,2% y/y was recorded in the first five months of the year, which was the net result of a slight uptick in growth in household unsecured credit balances and marginally lower growth in secured credit balances compared with the period January to April this year.
The outstanding value of household mortgage balances increased by an amount of R2,4 billion from end-April to a total of R842,1 billion at the end of May, with growth of 2,7% y/y recorded over the five-month period. Year-on-year growth in this component of household credit balances has been in a narrow range below the 3% level since January 2013.
Based on trends in and the outlook for a range of macroeconomic and household sector-related factors and variables, growth in the demand for credit by households and the value of outstanding credit balances is expected to remain subdued in the rest of the year.
Read more here: Credit and mortgage advances (May 2015)
