Report: Canadians' debt load mounting

TORONTO, July 3 (UPI) -- Canada's consumer credit delinquency rate soared 19 percent in the year ending May 31, a report from the Equifax Canada credit bureau said.

The report said more than 500,000 Canadian consumers fell into delinquency by allowing bills to go unpaid for more than 90 days, the Toronto Star reported.

The analysis said during the May-to-May period, credit card purchases increased 38 percent and sales finance purchases on such items as furniture and electronics rose 58 percent.

Nadim Abdo, an Equifax vice president, wrote that during this recession consumers are giving priority to paying back collateral-backed loans such as mortgages, bank loans and lines of credit, while allowing unsecured credit to go delinquent. He said that can come back to haunt consumers.

"When economic conditions get better -- whenever that is -- if they want to get a mortgage or get a line of credit with a negative rating on their credit file, that's not going to help them," he wrote.