PHOTO:KEVIN STENT/STUFF The scale of the mortgage and household debt challenge for banks was revealed by the Reserve Bank in mid-May.
OPINION: A staggering 114,000 people had “no payment required” flags on their credit files in mid June, data from credit reporting bureau Centrix shows.
Each of the flags represents a debtor allowed to stop making repayments for up to six months because they had suffered a loss of income as a result of the impacts of Covid-19.
Centrix says just over half of the debts on which no payment was required were mortgages.
Noting that the population of Napier was just over 62,000 at the last census, it’s hard not to see this ranking alongside the Canterbury earthquakes as one of the biggest financial hits suffered by middle-New Zealand in decades.
It’s also a political timebomb that will have a bearing on the upcoming election.
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