Companies dropping ball on payments

Report finds overall debt held by businesses up 12.8% to hit $33.8 billion

- JOSH RUBIN

It's another sign of strain in the Canadian economy.

Late payments by businesses jumped by 10.2 per cent in the second quarter compared with the same period last year, according to a study released Tuesday by credit bureau Equifax Canada.

"It's not cataclysmic ... but there are still some rough patches to get through," said Equifax executive Jeff Brown.

The report found that roughly 56,000 businesses missed a debt payment in the second quarter. The overall debt held by Canadian businesses reported to Equifax by lenders hit $33.8 billion in the quarter, a jump of 12.8 per cent. Mortgage debt shot up 28.2 per cent to $13.3 billion, while line of credit debt jumped 24.2 per cent to $2.1 billion.

Credit card debt rose 16.9 per cent to $6 billion.

The report doesn't include corporate bonds or short-term commercial paper, like those issued by publicly traded corporations.