The number of people in Finland with bad credit has hit a new high, says the Asiakastieto corporation, which tracks corporate risk management data. The firm said on Monday that there are now nearly 372,000 individuals in the country who have defaulted on payments.
During the first three months of the year, the firm registered more than 510,000 cases on payment problems involving nearly 149,000 people. As of the end of March, it estimates, 8.4 percent of adults in Finland have poor credit ratings.
Those with the biggest problems in balancing their finances are men between the ages of 25 and 44. More than 15 percent of these have had trouble paying their bills.
The rise in credit problems has been mirrored by an increase in applications for debt restructuring, notes Asiakastieto. During the first quarter of this year, demand for these rose by more than 10 percent compared to the same period of 2014, it says.