Borrowers earning between HK$100,000 and HK$125,000 a month have jumped by 179 percent over the past two years, a survey shows.
Lendela, a loan matching platform in Hong Kong, interviewed individuals earning between HK$50,000 and HK$125,000 a month, nicknamed HENRYs (High Earners, Not Rich Yet),
and found the share of loan applications from the HENRY group has risen 60 percent over the past two years, without offering the sampling size.
The data also shows a larger growth in the share of HENRY borrowers with higher income, with individuals earning HK$100,000 to HK$125,000 jumping 179 percent, compared to a 129 percent surge in the group earning HK$75,000 to HK$100,000 and a 30 percent rise in the group earning HK$50,000 to HK$75,000.
In addition, the average applied loan size for HENRY borrowers over the last two years was HK$281,000, with applications going as high as HK$2.5 million in 2024.
And 14 percent of HENRY borrowers hold existing debts ranging from HKD 500,000 to HKD 1 million, while, on average, 15 percent typically do not have existing debt upon application.
Furthermore, while HENRY borrowers have predominantly been individuals aged between 30 and 39, the past two years have seen a spike in loan applications from high-income borrowers in the 50s, with their share of total HENRY applications increasing by 167 percent.
