AMBA debt report shows 27% of debtors in arrears

A report by the consultancy Eunomia reveals a significant debt crisis within the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (AMBA). The investigation, titled ‘From Income to Delinquency’, indicates that 27.2% of the 5,400,192 unique debtors surveyed in the 40 districts of AMBA are currently in arrears.

The study attributes this over-indebtedness to a mismatch between income and expenses. Between January 2025 and March 2026, registered private sector wages rose by 35.2%, while the Consumer Price Index (IPC) for the Greater Buenos Aires area accumulated 40.8%. The gap was even wider in essential categories, such as food (+45.1%), public transport (+49.7%), and rent (+70.9%).

Financial fragility was further exacerbated by ‘multi-debt’, where 6.7 million people combined credit from financial institutions with non-financial providers. In the fintech sector, 80% of new users incorporated during 2025 already carried existing debt. While interest rate hikes in September 2025 acted as an amplifier, the report suggests that the trend of irregularity was already ascending due to pre-existing economic fragility. The highest delinquency rates were recorded in municipalities such as Presidente Perón (37%), Florencio Varela (36.1%), and José C. Paz (35.4%).