Applications for consumer credit in the country dropped by 50 percent in the second quarter of the year compared with a jump of 14 percent in the first quarter, according to the latest data from the Credit Bureau of Cambodia (CBC).
CBC is the leading provider of credit information, analytical solutions and credit reporting services to banks, microfinance institutions, lending companies, credit operators, and consumers in Cambodia. It commenced operations in 2012.
Consumer credit applications represent the intention of consumers to acquire credit in the form of personal finance, credit cards or mortgages, said CBC.
It said that in the second quarter of this year across the country, personal finance applications dropped by 50 percent, credit card applications were down by 43 percent and mortgage applications fell by 51 percent.
Quarter one 2020 personal finance applications increased by 13 percent, credit card applications rose by 13 percent, and mortgage applications increased by 35 percent.
Oeur Sothearoath, chief executive officer of Credit Bureau Cambodia, said the credit market relatively slowed down in Q2. He said similar to the same quarter last year, the trend of fall in credit applications in Q2 continued. However, the drop in the number and amount of credit applications was steeper at minus 50 percent and minus 47 percent respectively.
“With the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic which has impacted economies around the world, a slowdown was expected,” he said.
The CBC report also stated that the ratio of late repayments 30 days past their due date, indicated as 30+ DPD as of June 2020, was 2.64 percent on personal finance, credit cards and mortgages. CBC added that the consumer loan balance by type as of June 2020, was $8.73 billion. Of the total the loan balance was 50.47 percent on mortgages, 48.96 percent on personal finance and 0.57 percent on credit cards.
Because of the situation caused by COVID-19, the Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) has been actively working with its members and stakeholders, especially the National Bank of Cambodia, to assist affected clients.
As of Aug 30, more than 270,000 MFI clients in Cambodia have applied for credit restructuring. Nearly 260,000 customers – more than 94 percent of the total applicants – received credit restructuring permission with a total loan amount of more than $1.25 billion, said the CMA.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
