Greece Sees Biggest Decline in Financial Wellbeing in Europe

(Bloomberg) -- The fallout from Covid-19 is hurting the financial wellbeing of Greek and Romanian consumers the most in Europe, while those in Scandinavia are least affected.

Swedish debt collector Intrum AB surveyed European consumers on their financial security and nearly half of the respondents said their wellbeing has declined today compared with six months ago.

“The survey clearly shows that people’s concern for their own financial capacity has increased during the pandemic,” Intrum’s chief executive, Mikael Ericson, said in an interview.

A third of those surveyed expect their financial wellbeing to decrease further in the next six months, according to Intrum. And only 23% of respondents expect the situation to improve.

While online shopping has seen a boost from the lockdowns imposed across much of the region, “a big part of it is done on credit, which of course feeds the expansion we’ve seen earlier on the credit side,” Ericson said, adding “it’s worrying on an aggregated level.”

On a positive note, however, Ericson says that a third of those surveyed “have increased their private savings and/or become more careful with spending.”

Further findings from Intrum’s European Consumer Payment pulse survey:

• 54% of respondents have seen a decrease in household income as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak
• Close to 40% said they are saving significantly less money for the future than they were before Covid-19
• One in five consumers have gone into more debt to cover everyday spending as a direct result of pandemic
• Nearly 4 in 10 have had their employment affected by Covid-19
• 58% are dissatisfied with their ability to save each month, up from 52% in last years’ survey
• In November, about 45% of European consumers surveyed by Intrum said their bills were rising at a faster rate than their incomes, with 43% saying those concerns were negatively affecting their general wellbeing
• Survey was conducted in May, with 4,800 participants in 24 countries, and a minimum of 200 respondents per country

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