Equifax monitoring credit in Alberta, Saskatchewan as defaults rise

Credit monitoring agency Equifax says it is keeping an eye on delinquency rates in Saskatchewan and Alberta, which have started to creep higher.

"We're paying a little more attention to areas that have been impacted by declining oil prices the western provinces, so Saskatchewan and Alberta what caught our eye was an increase in delinquencies," Regina Malina, senior director of decision insights at EquifaxCanada, said in an interview with CBC News.

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Malina said all Canadian delinquency rates are low and the ones seen in Saskatchewan and Alberta aren't really high enough to cause alarm.

"We are still far from the point where we'd look at the number and say it is too high," she said. "The question is, which direction will it move over the next quarter."

6.9% more debt

Equifax estimates Canadians added $122 billion or 6.9 per cent to their borrowings in the past year, mainly for auto loans and instalment loans.

The total consumer debt, excluding mortgages, in the first quarter is $1.544 trillion, according toEquifaxCanada's National Consumer Credit Trends Report. That works out to $20,910 per person.

The biggest demand for new credit came in Western Canada, where borrowing increased 5.2 per cent in the quarter, compared to last year.

However, Canadians continue to be reliable managers of debt, with a delinquency rate of 1.12 per cent, considered very low, Equifax says.