Acre is among the ten most indebted in the country; Amazon states lead the ranking, shows Serasa

Marcela Leiros – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – The Acre State occupied the 8th position in the ranking of states with more defaulting population in Brazil, with 44.58% of inhabitants with some debt outstanding in September, according to Serasa. There were, at least, 400 thousand consumers in default in the Federative Unit. Delinquency means the non-payment of a bill or debt and the data are from the agency’s latest survey, conducted in September of this year.

Besides Acre, other four states in the Legal Amazon are in the “Top 10” with the highest number of registered defaults. CENARIUM MAGAZINE considered that the estimated population of Acre, in 2021, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), was 906,000 people, to arrive at the number of those affected by default.

The states of the Legal Amazon that shared the ranking with Acre were: Amazonas (51.50%), in first position; Amapá (50.76%), in second place; Mato Grosso (48.70%), in fifth position; and Roraima (46%), in 7th position. All of them were above the national average, 42.22% of the population that failed to pay some commitment.

See the ranking of the states in the month of September:

In comparison with the August survey, the number of defaulters in Acre has increased, since previously the state occupied the 9th position, with 43.77%, or 396 thousand people. At the time, the ranking was still led by Amazonas (51.44%), followed by Amapá (50.79%), Mato Grosso (48.78%) still in fifth position, and Roraima (46.17%) in sixth place.

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If we compare the two months, it is possible to see that the default increased only in Amazonas, while in the other states of the Legal Amazon, which are in the “Top 10”, the number of adult consumers who stopped paying some debt decreased.

Economist Denise Kassama points out that the explanation for the high level of default in the Amazon states is due to the influence of other indicators that make it difficult to pay off debts.

“The issue of default in the North Region corroborates with other indicators, such as the high level of unemployment in the region, reduced income. In other words, less people working, less income, more debts. There comes a time when the debts, considering the current interest rate, the consumer can no longer honor their financial responsibilities and goes into default”, he explains.

See below the general ranking in August:

Credit card

On the national scenario, there were 68.39 million defaulters in September. The average percentage of Brazilians in this situation was 42.22%, higher than in August, when it reached 42.01%. Being in default can lead to a negative credit rating, which is popularly known as having a “bad name”. 

“Being in default and having the name in Serasa, in addition to directly restricting access to credit and disrupting the financial life of families, also affects the consumer’s credit score”, says the agency.

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The institution also pointed out that the main villain of the financial life of families in September was the credit card, responsible for causing 29.45% of debts. Soon after comes retail (12.38%) and Utilities (21.86%), which are basic bills such as water, electricity and cooking gas.

The average value of delinquency, per person, was R$ 4,324.42, and the average value of each debt was R$ 1,227.71, Serasa pointed out. As for the gender of defaulters, women accounted for the largest number, 50.2%, and men 49.8%.

The agency also gives tips on how to avoid falling into default. See below:

• Gather the family and make a survey of all expenses, including small items, such as coffee at the bakery;
  
• The family must always decide together which expenses to cut, how much to save, and where to apply the money saved;
  
• Abandon consumerism. Have at most one credit card and only carry it in your purse when you have planned a really necessary purchase;
  
• Research prices before buying any product and cut unnecessary expenses.