Experian’s CDIx
The Experian Consumer Default Index (CDI), was designed to measure the rolling default behaviour of South African consumers with Home Loan, Vehicle Loan, Personal Loan, Credit Card and Retail Loan accounts.
The CDIx provides a quarterly overview of the credit landscape in South Africa, combining the widely used CDI with views on the latest credit industry trends as well as commentary on the context within which these trends are observed.
Specifically, it provides views on the latest:
- Macroeconomic Market Context that has a direct bearing on consumers
- Market appetite for credit
- Qualification and take-up of credit (i.e. new business)
- Performance of credit consumers (i.e. arrears/defaults and vintages, CDI and Debt Review)
Get the summary Q1 2026 CDI Report for an overview of the latest consumer default trends.
Get the summary Q2 2026 CDI Report for an overview of the latest consumer default trends.
Download the summary CDIx report
CDIx Q2 2026: What South Africa’s credit data is really telling us
In this quarter’s Experian Data Insights Check-in, Lauren Esterhuizen unpacks the key trends from the latest CDIx report. Inflation ticked up to 5.0% in June, even as six prime rate cuts since September 2024 offer consumers real, if only partial, relief. Demand for credit is holding steady, but lenders are approving fewer applications and writing bigger loans, concentrated in home loans and vehicle finance, rather than casting a wider net.
On performance, the Composite CDI improved 10% year-on-year, though that headline number hides a real split: home loans, vehicle finance and credit cards are improving, while personal loans and retail credit are deteriorating. Segmenting by Experian’s FAS groups shows encouraging gains for Stable Spenders and Yearning Youth, while Debt Review data reveals a striking trend: financial strain is climbing steadily even among South Africa’s most affluent consumers.
Watch the full episode for the details behind each number, and subscribe to the full CDIx report for the product-level breakdowns and data series behind the story.
*Note the full CDIx is now a paid product. Contact us for more information.
Read more here.
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No time to read the article below? Listen to our podcast in which Jaco van Jaarsveld takes you through the various graphs that bring these data insights to life.