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An increasing number of consumers are finding it difficult to meet their financial commitments.
Credit monitoring firm Equifax said there had been a 3 percent year-on-year drop in hardship associated with home loans in April, but a 16 percent increase in credit card hardships.
Vehicle loan arrears were also up 39 percent in April over the year earlier, although there had been some improvement over March.
Credit appetite was also down in the year to date by nearly 5 percent, though credit card demand rose 21 percent in the first three months of the year, compared with a year earlier.
However, Equifax said personal loan enquiries for 2023 to date were performing relatively well, with a modest 3.4 percent drop in average weekly enquiries in the year earlier period.
