São Paulo, March 12, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Over half the population of Greater São Paulo has debts in special checking accounts, credit cards, personal loans, or installment payments in general. Worst of all, 75% of the debtors don't believe they will be able to pay off their debts in the short-term. These data, gathered in February, appear in the first Study of Consumer Indebtedness and Default, by the Commercial Federation of the State of São Paulo (Fecomércio/SP).

The reduction of workers' buying power is the main cause of indebtedness and delinquency, in the view of the Fecomércio's economic advisory staff. According to the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), the income of Brazilian families fell 14% last year alone. (DAS)