New Zealand Credit Climat: The Centrix Credit Indicator Report

Centrix is New Zealand’s credit bureau. Every month Centrix releases the ‘Credit Indicator Report’ which analyses New Zealand’s credit data, focusing on emerging trends and their possible impacts. This report is valuable for gaining an understanding of the current economic climate and consumer confidence. We are delighted to be able to share it with you and hope you find it insightful.

Centrix – October highlights are as follows:

Consumer credit demand has climbed to pre-pandemic levels, with new unsecured lending up 18% year-on-year. This reflects the expectation that New Zealander’s are increasingly turning to credit to support their spending.
Mortgage arrears have crept up to a six-month high while consumer arrears appear to be leveling out month-on-month. Mortgage applications are down 11% on last year while new lending is down 37%.
Nearly 2.1m consumers have credit cards, however holders of multiple cards are down 33% since 2019 as many chose to close their accounts.
Despite showing signs of improved activity the construction sector has seen an upswing in defaults. Hospitality also experienced rising defaults and is now the sector facing the most challenges as labour issues and cost pressures persist.