Credit card spending slows sharply in 2009

SEOUL, March 5 (Yonhap) -- Credit card spending in South Korea slowed sharply in
the first two months of the year as consumers tightened their belts amid an
economic downturn, a trade association said Thursday.

The nation's total credit card bills stood at 47.99 trillion won (US$31.2
billion) in the January-February period, up 5.2 percent from the same period last
year, the Credit Finance Association said.
The annual increase rate was 9.1 percent for December and 18.1 percent for all of
2008, it said.
The drastic slowdown in the use of plastic comes as a big blow to credit card
companies that are suffering from a surge in overdue bills stemming from the
slumping economy.
According to the nation's financial regulator, the average delinquency rate at
five credit card providers stood at 3.43 percent as of the end of 2008, up 0.15
percentage point from three months earlier.
"The ratio probably rose 0.3-0.4 percentage point in January as the slowing
economy took a toll on cardholders' incomes," said Choi Jung-wook, an analysts at
Daishin Securities Co.
pbr@yna.co.kr
(END)