Debt and personal loans on the rise, bank survey reveals
Almost one in three Hongkongers are in some form of debt, with about a quarter more people taking out personal loans in the first-half of the year compared with last year, a bank survey shows.
The Citibank poll also found young people were more likely to pay in instalments when making purchases, Maggie Ng Leung Yuk-yee, the bank's director of cards and unsecured lending, said yesterday.
"On average, respondents are paying about HK$500 [a month] for their hire-purchase items," Ng said. "This is an amount they are capable of repaying."
In the past three months, 19 per cent of the respondents aged between 21 and 29 committed to paying in instalments, compared with 15 per cent among those between 30 and 44.
Citibank polled 1,041 people aged between 21 and 55 in May and June.
The survey found 31 per cent of people were indebted in one way or another.
Of the total number of respondents, 13 per cent had a personal loan at present, while 15 per cent were paying for their shopping purchases in instalments.
Ng said 26 per cent more people took out personal loans in the first six months.
