The data shows that R26.45bn was granted in unsecured credit in the last quarter of 2012, but that the amount for the first quarter of this year was lower at R21.9bn.

This is still substantially higher than the R16.6bn extended in the first quarter of last year.

Quarter-on-quarter there is a decrease of 17.02%, but on an annual basis unsecured credit is still growing at 31.48%, the NCR data shows.

The majority of unsecured credit agreements are for terms of between 3.1 and 5 years, with only 0.86% for a term of between 5.1 and 10 years.

A significant trend, however, is that the loan sizes are quite big.

According to the data for the number of agreements per size, 33.63% of all agreements are for more than R15 000, the largest percentage, with the loan size of R5 100 to R8 000 coming in second at 22.54%.

The data also shows the start of a new trend where unsecured loans are being extended to individuals with higher incomes.

 – jeanette@moneyweb.co.za