The Signs Are Starting To Show
I read this without surprise this morning. (Taken from sg.news.yahoo.com)
More struggling to pay credit card bills, personal loans on time
SINGAPORE: More consumers in Singapore are struggling to pay their credit card bills and personal loans on time.
According to data from the Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS), the percentage of consumers who missed at least one payment on their credit cards climbed from 1.45 per cent in September 2008 to 1.67 per cent in December 2008.
A year back in December 2007, the delinquency rate stood at 1.48 per cent.
However, CBS said these figures still remained well below the highs registered during the SARS downturn when the average delinquency rate was 2.6 per cent.
Consumers in their thirties had a higher tendency to miss their credit card payments. In December, more than four in ten who were behind with their payments were aged between 30 and 39.
The bureau said male consumers were also more likely to miss their credit payments. More than two—thirds of those who had delinquent accounts last December were males.
CBS said more consumers with personal loans also started to fall into arrears on their loans in the final months of last year.
The proportion of consumers that had delinquent personal loan accounts rose from 4.2 per cent in September 2008 to 5.3 per cent in December 2008.
CBS executive director William Lim said the latest statistics showed that more consumers might be under stress from the impact of layoffs and the economic downturn. — 938LIVE/vm
In a previous posting on Feb 19, 2009, “Where To Now Brown Cow?“, I mentioned;
… the pain levels amongst citizens here in Singapore are not what I thought it would be in this recession. Or maybe in sunny and hazy Singapore, it hasn’t reached those drastic levels yet …
… One of the reasons could be attributed to the ease at which we are able to attain credit to sustain the lifestyle or delay the pain. Personally, I see it as a timebomb waiting to implode …
… And maybe that is why Singapore is not yet in full pain … we have credit to delay or stave off the pain …
… Will credit save us? delay the pain? or destroy a few lives in the name of Interest Payable?
… if you consider that this recession is by far the worse we’ve ever had … we are no where near the pain levels of recessions past.
It would seem that the pain is slowly emerging. This is only the start. If you haven’t read the whole post, check it out. It’ll wake you up. Click here: ”Where To Now Brown Cow?“.
In that report, I also mentioned;
No one has thrown himself off a rooftop and crime is not half as rife as it was back when.
That was not a comment made in passing. Back in 1987, brokers and remisers walked out of 20 storey buildings … out the window of the 20th floor, I mean. In 1997 and 2002, a couple of my friends took their lives. Now in 2009, when things are worse, or at least supposedly worse, none of this is happening … yet.
Excerpts From Reuters, by By Tan Ee Lyn and Kim Junghyun
Suicides generally increase during times of economic troubles, experts say, and Asians may be particularly susceptible as the region has among the world’s highest suicide rates.
Millions of people in Asia have lost their jobs and retirees and other small investors have lost their life savings due to plunging stock markets and the collapse of investment funds.
Among developed nations, South Korea and Japan have the world’s highest suicide rates, or 24.8 and 24 per every 100,000 people respectively, followed by Belgium at 21.3 and Finland at 20.35. The United States stands at 11.1.
To read the whole report, click here: In Asia, suicides rise due to Financial Crisis
To quote our own Prime Minister from 2 days ago when he mentioned that Singapore’s economy could shrink by more than five percent this year;
“It could be worse if the global economy worsens, even less than five percent is possible. Over the next four, five years — if you can get two, three percent growth, I think that’s not bad. Three, four percent growth, I would say we’re lucky,”
So heed his wise words, “Tighten your seatbelts!“
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