Azoreans are resorting more to consumer credit, which registered 987.2 million euros last year, compared to 936 million the previous year.
According to the Bank of Portugal (BdP), this increase follows the national trend. The BdP revealed that compared to November, only car loans registered an increase in December. However, the scenario is quite different in the year-on-year comparison, with all the items showing notable growth.
According to data from the Bank of Portugal, the number of new loans and the associated amount fell in December, except for car loans.
In year-on-year terms, all the items recorded considerable increases.
The figures show that the amount contracted in December fell by 1.1% compared to November, standing at 707.8 million euros – which is still a significant rise of 19.3% year-on-year.
The number of new contracts fell by 5.8% compared to the previous month, but this translates into an increase of 7.2% compared to the same period last year.
In detail, this shows a reduction of 6.3% in the number of new personal credit contracts and 7.3% in cards and overdrafts, while car loans rose by 2.9%.


Looking at the amounts, personal loans fell 5.2% to 288 million euros, while cards and overdrafts fell 6.6% to 119 million euros. Car loans, on the other hand, rose 5.9% to 300 million euros.
Even so, compared to December 2023, all the headings registered growth in terms of the amount and the number of contracts, except the number of personal loans with no specific purpose, which fell by 0.8%.
Meanwhile, the total amount of mortgage loans in Portugal began the year growing by 4.1%.
January was the 13th consecutive month of accelerated growth in the stock of loans for house purchases despite falling interest rates.
It was also the month that saw the start of the public guarantee, a scheme that allowed young people up to the age of 35 to obtain loans of up to 100% of the transaction’s value.
The Bank of Portugal figures released yesterday also show that “the number of mortgage debtors at the end of January” was 1.98 million, “continuing the downward trend that has been seen since July 2022”. This is a sign that, with more expensive homes, mortgage borrowers tend to be more indebted.

In Diário dos Açores – Osvaldo Cabral, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.