Equifax says total consumer debt rises to $2.32 trillion in second quarter

Equifax Canada says total consumer debt rose to $2.32 trillion in the second quarter, up 8.2 per cent compared with the same quarter last year.

The report by the credit rating agency says increases in new lending and higher spending linked to inflation helped boost non-mortgage debt to $591.4 billion, up 5.2 per cent from a year ago.

It says average non-mortgage debt per consumer was $21,128, up 2.4 per cent compared with a year earlier.

Rebecca Oakes, vice-president of advanced analytics at Equifax Canada, says financial stress is becoming a very real thing for many more Canadians.

Oakes says the impact on consumer credit is not just visible in day-to-day credit card spending, but also in other non-mortgage debt like auto loans and lines of credit, where balances are on the rise.

Equifax says credit card balances rose to the highest level since the fourth quarter of 2019.