Highest non- mortgage debt levels still in B. C.

Average consumer owes $ 37,879, study finds

B. C. residents continue to have the highest non- mortgage debt in the country, with the average consumer’s debt load rising to $ 37,879 in the second quarter of 2012, a new analysis shows.

That’s more than 10- per- cent higher than the next highest province, which is Alberta. Debt in B. C. grew 0.2 per cent quarter over quarter and 2.9 per cent year over year, the latest report on Canadian debt trends by TransUnion found.

Across the country, non- mortgage debt is at its highest level since TransUnion started tracking it in 2004 with the average consumer’s load rising to $ 26,221 in the second quarter of 2012.

That’s up 0.74 per cent from the first quarter of 2012 and up 2.41 per cent from a year earlier.

TransUnion says there was a big increase in auto loans, partly offset by less money drawn on lines of credit.

The average credit- card debt was down from a year ago but up from the first quarter.

A moderately encouraging sign is that delinquency or default levels remained low across the board.

“We are in a unique situation because while it is somewhat disconcerting to see average consumer total debt reach its highest level since we’ve been tracking this variable, Canadian consumers appear to be able to manage this debt as delinquency levels have dropped across all of the major credit vehicles,” said Thomas Higgins, TransUnion’s vice- president of analytics and decision services.

“It’s quite possible that this is a trend that will continue as consumers take advantage of the low- interest environment. However, if there are any sudden economic shifts such as a significant rise in unemployment, then it’s quite conceivable that delinquencies will rise with debt levels.”

Last month, another consumer credit reporting agency, Equifax Canada, reported that consumer indebtedness, excluding mortgage debt, grew 3.1 per cent year- over- year in the second quarter, down from 4.4 per cent in the same period of 2011. The Equifax study also found that high- interest credit card debt fell by 3.8 in the quarter and consumer bankruptcies were down 4.5 per cent from a year earlier.