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New Data Show Argentina’s Middle Class Turning to Savings and Debt to Cover Basics

Record personal-loan arrears reflect shrinking disposable income from higher utility tariffs.

Overview

  • An IAG analysis of EPH-INDEC microdata finds 53% of middle-income households used coping strategies in Q2 2025, compared with 48% of all households.
  • Middle deciles relied more on financial buffers, with 40% spending savings and 18% taking bank loans versus 12% among lower-income groups.
  • Across all households, 35% tapped savings, 25% borrowed formally or informally, and 9% sold belongings, with indebtedness the only measure worse than in 2024.
  • BCRA data show personal-credit delinquency around 9–9.1% in September, the series peak, alongside a 37% year-over-year rise in bank borrowing by middle-income sectors.
  • The squeeze reflects subsidy removals that pushed utility costs higher, lifting the share of a median wage spent on services from about 4% in November 2023 to roughly 11% in 2025, with female-headed homes—especially women aged 36–50—hit hardest.