South African consumer credit arrears and how to compare them
South Africa's long-overdue consumer debt is concentrated in home loans and credit facilities, challenging the market's focus on unsecured lending as the main source of household distress. The National Credit Regulator's March report puts R85.9bn of debt more than 120 days late in mortgages and R44.9bn in cards, store cards and overdrafts. Unsecured loans held a smaller share of the arrears stock, and the report does not explain why those balances remain unpaid.
Mortgages remain the largest credit category
The consumer credit book grew from R1.98 trillion in March 2020 to R2.54 trillion in March 2026. Mortgages remained its largest category, and unsecured credit was the only large credit type with a smaller balance than six years earlier.
The number of borrowers in each credit type, and the size of their loans, shape the rand amount in arrears. A type with more borrowers or bigger loans can have more rand in arrears even when the same share of its lending is overdue.
Mortgages and credit facilities dominate oldest arrears
The March 2026 age tables put R198.1 billion in the 120+ bucket across all credit types. Home-loan borrowers accounted for R85.9 billion in arrears, and card, store-card and overdraft customers accounted for R44.9 billion. People with unsecured loans accounted for R39.3 billion, about a fifth of the total.
Card, store-card and overdraft customers, and people with unsecured loans, account for a larger share of 120+ arrears than of the book, while home-loan borrowers account for a smaller share. Credit facilities make up 14.5% of the book but 22.6% of the 120+ balance.
Earlier arrears and oldest balances move differently
The mortgage 120+ balance rose as its 30 to 90 day share fell from its March 2024 peak. In unsecured lending, the 120+ share fell while the 30 to 90 day share stayed within a narrow range.
For mortgages, the 120+ share rose from 3.7% in March 2022 to 6.6% in March 2026. The 30 to 90 day share reached 6.3% in March 2024, then stood at 5.6% two years later. The mortgage pool of 120+ arrears also doubled from R41.7 billion in March 2022 to R85.9 billion in March 2026.
Unsecured credit shows a different combination. Its 120+ share fell from a peak of 22.2% in September 2024 to 18.3% in March 2026, while its 30 to 90 day share stayed between 7.7% and 8.6% from March 2023 through March 2026.
The 30 to 90 day share tracks earlier-stage arrears at the quarter’s end, closer to the arrears coming into the older buckets. The 120+ balance is the stock still there after accounts have had time to leave. For mortgages, more borrowers in arrears, lenders holding accounts longer, or slower execution against homes are possible explanations for the rise. The NCR’s figures cannot distinguish among them. They also give no account of why the unsecured 120+ share fell.
As some borrowers fall further behind and enter the 120+ bucket, other accounts leave through write-off, sale, settlement or execution. The change in the 120+ balance reflects both movements.
BA900 shows household balances by bank and product
The Reserve Bank’s monthly BA900 returns show household lending balances for each bank and product. In August 2026, banks held R2.30 trillion in household credit, including R1.33 trillion in mortgages and R476.4 billion in instalment sales and leasing.
Standard Bank held R594.7 billion in household credit, FirstRand R501.8 billion, Absa R487.7 billion and Nedbank R448.8 billion. Together, the four largest banks held 88.3% of the bank total. BA900 covers banks and their balances, while the NCR’s age tables provide the market arrears comparison across credit types and lender types.
NCR age tables show arrears by credit type
The NCR’s Consumer Credit Market Report is the source for the age tables used above.
The NCR’s Consumer Credit Market Report is based on Form 39 returns required under the National Credit Act. Credit providers with annual disbursements above R15 million file quarterly returns, and smaller providers file annually.
The report groups lending as mortgages, secured credit, credit facilities, unsecured credit, short-term credit and developmental credit. Its age tables show balances that are current, 30 days, 31 to 60, 61 to 90, 91 to 120, and 120 days or more in arrears. The report identifies lender types, such as banks and retailers, and gives no named-lender arrears breakdown.
| Source | Who files | How often | Lenders named | Arrears | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCR Consumer Credit Market Report | Every registered credit provider, on Form 39 | Quarterly above R15 million a year of loans, annually below | No, by lender type only | Yes, by credit type, six buckets | ncr.org.za, PDF |
| SARB BA900 return | Every bank | Monthly | Yes, every bank | No | resbank.co.za, CSV or XML per bank |
| Credit bureau records | Every registered credit provider, through SACRRA | Within 48 hours of opening or closing an account | Not public | Not public | The bureaus, for a permitted purpose |
| NCR Credit Bureau Monitor | The bureaus | Quarterly, paused after June 2025 | No | Consumers and accounts in arrears | ncr.org.za, PDF |
For bank balances by individual institution, BA900 returns are available as CSV or XML per bank. Credit providers share account data with bureaus through SACRRA, while the NCR’s Credit Bureau Monitor is paused during the introduction of a new form. Its latest edition is June 2025.
Compare your arrears with matching market measures
For your own book, calculate each arrears share by credit type and quarter, then compare it with the same market measure. For example, the March 2026 market share in the unsecured 30 to 90 day buckets was 7.7%, and its 120+ share was 18.3%. Those are separate reference points, not a single measure of stress.
Calculate the 30 to 90 day share as the balance in the 30, 31 to 60 and 61 to 90 day buckets divided by the gross book for that same credit type. Compare it with the NCR’s share for the same type and quarter. The roll-rate measure can help examine how accounts move into later arrears buckets.
Read the 120+ share separately. Accounts can be written off, sold, settled or, for a home loan, taken through execution, and the NCR’s age tables do not report when accounts leave the bucket. Your own write-off and recovery policy therefore affects how that share compares with the market. The cure-rate measure helps examine accounts leaving arrears.
Set the provision you hold for a portfolio against its gross 120+ balance. The provision-coverage measure addresses that comparison. Keep the distinction between arrears buckets and write-offs clear when reading loan loss provisions and roll rates.
Use the same credit types, balance basis and quarter dates in each comparison. For banks, use BA900 to follow monthly household balances by bank and product, and the NCR report to compare arrears.
- Map each product to an NCR credit type: home loans to mortgages, vehicle and furniture accounts to secured credit, cards, store cards and overdrafts to credit facilities, and personal loans to unsecured credit.
- At quarter end, age balances using the NCR buckets: current, 30 days, 31 to 60, 61 to 90, 91 to 120, and 120 days or more in arrears.
- For each credit type, calculate the 30 to 90 day share and compare it with the market’s share for the same quarter.
- Compare the 120+ share separately, and interpret it in light of when accounts leave the bucket and how your provision reporting treats the same exposure.
- Repeat the comparison each quarter against the NCR report. If you are a bank, use BA900 for monthly household balances by bank and product.
Questions about South African consumer credit data
How big is consumer credit in South Africa?
It was R2.54 trillion in March 2026, according to the NCR’s report. Use the report’s breakdown to compare balances by credit type.
Where can I find outstanding loan balances by lender in South Africa?
For individual banks, use the Reserve Bank’s monthly BA900 returns. The NCR reports balances by lender type, so use BA900 for bank-level balances and the NCR report for market arrears.
What is the NCR Consumer Credit Market Report and who reports to it?
It is the NCR’s report, based on Form 39 returns from credit providers. Providers with annual disbursements above R15 million file quarterly, and smaller providers file annually. Use it for credit-type balances and arrears age tables.
Which credit type has the most money more than 120 days in arrears?
Mortgages held the largest amount, R85.9 billion in March 2026. Compare that rand balance with each credit type’s book size to understand its share of the market.
Why is the unsecured credit 120+ figure falling?
The NCR’s published figures cannot identify the cause. They show the unsecured 120+ share falling to 18.3% in March 2026, while the 30 to 90 day share was 7.7%. Compare both measures over time, and assess your own 120+ share alongside how accounts leave the bucket.
What does BA900 show about banks’ household lending?
It shows monthly household lending balances by bank and product. Use it to follow bank balances, and use the NCR’s age tables to compare arrears.
Is the NCR’s Credit Bureau Monitor still published?
No. The latest edition is June 2025, and the NCR says monitoring is unavailable during the introduction of a new form. Use the Consumer Credit Market Report for its published arrears tables.
