Personal bankruptcies rise as oil prices drop: report

The sharp drop in the price of a barrel of oil could have a noticeable impact on our ability to pay bills.

A new study from TransUnion finds that historically when oil prices take a plunge, delinquency rates rise. Based on figures from past years, the report predicts those rates will be on the move upward towards the latter half of 2015.

Resource-rich Alberta and Saskatchewan are expected to be hit the hardest.

The study finds the lower the price of oil, the higher the insolvencies, which mostly entails personal bankruptcies.

TransUnion explains when the oil price drops that means there is lower oil sector investment. What happens then is employees are laid off. With lower employment comes lower consumer disposable income, translating into a reduced ability to service debt and ultimately driving up delinquency rates.

View the full report here.

KMartel@rawlco.com
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