Why your salary feels smaller: purchasing power plummets as debt levels soar
Even as inflation eases, high interest rates continue to erode incomes, forcing many South Africans to rely on loans to get by.
Debt
Videos
Watch: FPI Financial Planner of the Year on key issues shaping the financial landscape
Animated video explains the two-pot retirement system
NCA Credit providers’ FICA obligations
NCR Desktop Audits
Is South Africa on track to getting off the grey list?
Looking back at this year’s FPI Professional’s Convention
Enhance your HR skills by attending our insightful webinars in November
Webinars on how to investigate misconduct and address poor performance
How bank errors and unseen fees impacted customers
The OBS’s 2023 annual report unveils chargeback disputes, hidden fees, and administrative failures.
South Africans are feeling a lot better about their finances – survey
The latest Old Mutual Savings & Investment Monitor finds a decrease in households dipping into their savings and cashing in their investments early.
South Africans ‘ignore’ debt woes: survey highlights growing financial strain
The Money Stress Tracker survey finds that consumers’ response to financial strain is long on intent but short on action.
Pre-retirement savings withdrawals ‘make sense in certain cases’
Preservation must be encouraged, but the reality is that a retirement fund is many South Africans’ only source of savings, says Alexforbes.
More consumers turning to rewards to manage living expenses
These programmes are having a significant influence on the way people shop, according to the 2024 Sanlam Benchmark Survey.
Government to withdraw R150bn from SARB’s gold and forex account to get a handle on debt
A proposed reform will see half the account’s R500bn distributed to a SARB contingency reserve (R100bn) and to Treasury (R150bn).
Confidence in the economy at an 8-year low, Old Mutual research finds
Latest Savings & Investment Monitor contains insights into South Africans’ appetite for investment risk and investing offshore.
Grave concern about increase in senior citizens applying for debt counselling
Instead of making provision for retirement, they are servicing debt.
Consumers relying on unsecured loans as inflation and interest rate increases bite
Cash-strapped South Africans spending more on essential items such as food at the expense of insurance products, says DebtBusters.
Important expenses not factored into the medium-term budget
A major concern is the contingent liability guarantees of municipalities and some of the state-owned enterprises.
Ombudsman sets out what consumers should know about prescription
The Ombudsman for Banking Services (OBS) has issued a communication that alerts consumers to their rights when it comes to debt that has prescribed. According to ombudsman Reana Steyn, most consumers are ignorant […]
Why do more South Africans feel better about their financial prospects?
According to a graph in this year’s Old Mutual Savings & Investment Monitor (OMSIM), 72% of respondents expect their financial prospects to improve over the next six months, whereas only 5% believe they […]
Political messaging, juggling spending demands, and the outlook for SA bonds
Jeff Schultz, senior economist at BNP Paribas South Africa, provides the following perspective on the Budget. He discusses: What the ANC hopes the Budget will achieve politically. The outlook for government revenue and […]
Curtailing spending is critical to lowering the debt ratio
The most notable feature of Budget 2022 is National Treasury’s intent to stabilise the government’s debt ratio, as it “saves” a significant portion of its current tax windfall, estimated at R181.9 billion in […]
These six themes ‘will be top of mind’ for active managers in 2022
The response to climate change, inflation, post-pandemic growth and China’s market interventions are among investment managers’ top concerns this year, according to Sanlam Investments. Sanlam Investments’ portfolio managers believe active managers will focus […]
Debt levels and Covid-19 – Is the worst yet to come?
DebtBusters’ latest debt index for Q2 2020 reveals that South African consumers’ debt levels continued to deteriorate over the lockdown, with higher-income earners having unsustainable debt-to-income ratios. Benay Sager, DebtBusters’ chief operating officer, […]
