South Africans still have immense pressure to service debt

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 South Africans continue to experience immense pressure in their ability to service their debt.
This is according to the latest FNB Household debt service risk index figures for the fourth quarter of 2012.

FNB economist, John Loos says the figures came in at 6.55%, a marginal improvement from the previous quarter.

He says despite this slight improvement, consumers continue to be vulnerable to external factors, be it interest rates hike or other economic matters.

"What we see is that on a scale from 1-10 as index goes it's 6.55% which is not as high as the 7.3% of 2006, but it is a relatively high number historically and this high risk to the household sector the ability to service it's debt in future is brought about by the high level of debt to disposable income ratio which is still at 75.8 percent" Loos said.