In October, the delinquency rate for Argentine household loans with banks climbed to 7.8%, marking the highest level recorded since the Central Bank initiated its data collection in 2010. The figure indicates a 5.5% increase year-on-year relative to 2024, a period during which irregularities in loan repayments to families were just above 2%. A report from the Central Bank, released on Friday, details the trends in default rates on loans extended to the private sector. Despite October experiencing notably elevated interest rates amid midterm-related tensions, the incidence of families defaulting on loans has been steadily increasing over the past year. In June, it had reached 5.2%.
The report indicated that, for the second consecutive month, private banks experienced losses. In September, the adverse outcome represented 2% of their assets. Despite the decline observed in October, the figure continued to hold considerable importance, remaining near 0.5%. Roberto Feletti pointed to several factors contributing to the rise in defaulted loans, including “real interest rates that won’t go down, wages that grow less than inflation, and jobs being destroyed.” In a post on X, he stated that austerity measures are being “imposed on those at the bottom.”
“Credit expanded, yet it remains precarious: diminished real wages and reduced employment,” he added. “The outcome: households burdened by debt that are unable to meet their payment obligations.” In a separate report, the Central Bank disclosed that personal loans experienced a 25% increase in July, the most recent month for which data is available, relative to January 2025. The increase reached an impressive 144% in comparison to the same month of the prior year. Credit card usage experienced a year-on-year increase of 53%. The delinquency rate for corporate loans stood at 1.9% in October, a figure that has doubled compared to the same month in 2024.
The data arrives following a Friday report indicating an increase in informal employment as well. A brief released by the government statistics agency INDEC indicated that unemployment decreased in the third quarter of the year, declining from 6.9% to 6.6%. Of the 238,000 new jobs created, 201,000, which constitutes just over 84%, were situated within the informal sector.