Given that 26.9-million South Africans owe R1.96-trillion, it’s a question that has bankers on edge, as experts believe only half of the 2.2-million people who lost their jobs in recent months will regain them.
In spite of the huge number of Covid-related job losses and resulting failure of thousands of South Africans to keep up with their credit payments, the big banks are looking remarkably steady. One concern is that civil servants may start to fall victim to retrenchments as the government seeks to cut costs, resulting in many more people (and their banks) feeling the crunch.
Are SA’s banks facing a bad-debt crunch, with customers who’ve been retrenched during Covid-19 defaulting on what they owe?
Given that 26.9-million South Africans owe R1.96-trillion, it’s a question that has bankers on edge, as experts believe only half of the 2.2-million people who lost their jobs in recent months will regain them.