Provident Clients More Positive About Their Finances

Repayment of outstanding loans is less of a problem than before, and reluctance to borrow has eased, according to a survey by Provident Financial Ltd.'s among its own customers.

The data also shows that with their financial situation feeling more stable, more people are willing to spend on things such as health care, which was less important before. The majority of respondents do not expect any significant negative change in the next six months, and 42% expect their financial situation to improve.

Provident's regular research has revealed positive changes in the financial situation of its customers on several fronts. Compared to the latest data from October 2023, the proportion of those who are more concerned than average about the global economic situation has fallen significantly from 43 to 35%. At the same time, the number of those who are not, or not at all, concerned about these developments has almost doubled in a year (from 13 to 22%). Inflation is still the most feared issue, but the proportion has fallen from 44 to 40%. In addition, the war in Ukraine is the most worrying factor for those surveyed.

Most (40%) said that there had been no change in their financial situation. The share of respondents who see their financial situation as slightly worse increased slightly by 4.6 percentage points to 23.5%, while the share of respondents who see their financial situation as better decreased by three percentage points to 16.7%.

42% of respondents expect a positive shift to a greater or lesser extent in the next six months, up marginally by 0.6 percentage points compared to October last year. The relative majority, 46% of respondents, expect no change.

Fewer people see loan repayments as an acute problem, with the proportion of those who think they will have no problem repaying their loans up 7 percentage points on last year to 80%. At the same time, the number of households that will run out of money by the end of the month has fallen by 11 percentage points. Also indicative of a more stable financial situation, the proportion of households that have to cut their expenditure has fallen from 25 to 18%.

Thinking about borrowing has also shifted slightly in a positive direction over the past year, with a 15%age point increase in the number of households planning to take out a new loan to 35%, while 43% said they were positive about applying for a loan.