Debt worries rise amid higher interest rates and persistent inflation: MNP report

A new report suggests Canadians’ worries about debt are rising amid higher interest rates and persistent inflation.

Bankruptcy trustee firm MNP says its quarterly consumer debt index fell 15 points since its last survey to an all-time low of 77 points.

A lower score on the index suggests higher anxiety about debt.

MNP president Grant Bazian says inflation is eroding household budgets and, at the same time, financially fragile and overleveraged Canadians face sharply rising borrowing costs.

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The report, based on online interviews conducted in December, says the percentage of Canadians concerned about their debt rose seven percentage points to 47 per cent, a record high.

It says 64 per cent say that as interest rates rise they are more concerned about their ability to pay their debts, while 59 per cent say if interest rates go up much more, they will be in financial trouble.

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