Brazil sees surge in consumer debt in Acre and Greater ABC region

Serasa’s latest data shows that 295,299 residents of Acre are listed as delinquent, representing nearly 300,000 people with combined debts exceeding R$1.7 billion. The bulk of these obligations are with banks and credit‑card issuers (about 25% of total debt), followed by utilities such as water, electricity and gas (21%). Nationwide, Brazil now has 345.5 million outstanding debts, amounting to more than R$579.5 billion.

In the Greater ABC area of São Paulo state, a month after the federal Novo Desenrola programme was launched on 4 May, Serasa recorded R$9.14 billion in consumer debt and 1.17 million delinquent borrowers. Compared with May, the number of debtors rose by 0.7% and the total number of debts increased 1.2% to 6.33 million. São Bernardo leads the region with 354 k indebted consumers, followed by Santo André, Diadema and Mauá. Novo Desenrola aims to expand access to debt renegotiation with discounts and easier payment terms, and Serasa estimates it could cut the number of delinquent borrowers by up to 9.6% by August. Serasa’s education‑finance specialist Aline Vieira noted that while it is still early to gauge the programme’s full impact, such initiatives can help restrain the growth of household indebtedness.