A Classification of Polish Households Based on a Credit Portfolio and Debt Service Ratio

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to show the diversity of Polish households’ financial behavior in terms of debt as well as an identification of households that are characterized by a high debt to income ratio. The article also attempt to assess the debt to income ratio as a measure of households over-indebtedness. To achieve the main objective, the cluster analysis method was used. Based on the households credits portfolio and the level of debt to income ratio, 11 homogeneous groups of households were generated. Five of them were characterized by a high debt to income ratio (>30%), which classify them as overindebted.