25% loan seekers under 30 years of age: Cibil Report

MUMBAI: There has been a huge rise in the number of people under 30 years of age seeking credit in the last five years, according to credit information provider Cibil report.

While those under 30 years constituted just around 7 per cent of the new credit applicants in 2008 and the same has grown to over 25 per cent now, the Cibil report said.

Interestingly, eagerness shown by youth in getting indebted comes at a time when people have been complaining about bleak times on the economic front due to falling growth, which also led to some job losses, the report said.

Till FY 2008-09, the economy was doing very well and the same has now plummeted and logging even a 5 per cent growth is also seemed to be an uphill task this fiscal, it said.

Cibil further said it could be noted that the demographics have undergone a radical shift in the past decade, with the country getting more "younger", i.e. the percentage of working age population (between 15 and 35) growing rapidly.

The percentage of those under 40 years applying for their first credit has gone up to 60 per cent in 2014, from the 50 per cent mark in 2008, the report said.

"Youth are driving credit growth with 60 per cent of new loan applications coming from applicants, who are under 40," it said.

With the economic growth facing troubles, coupled with a sense of "policy paralysis", lenders have been focusing very hard on the retail segment for growth as the project loans are not coming at all, the report said.