Reported commercial defaults rose 47% in the September quarter from the same quarter a year ago, data from New Zealand's largest credit referencing firm Veda Advantage shows.

Finance company defaults rose 150% from a year ago, while defaults from trade credit providers rose 132%, Veda Advantage reported.

"We conducted a study into the economic mood of the business community a couple of months ago, and found that around a quarter of smaller businesses were finding debt levels harder to service than a year ago," said Veda Advantage New Zealand Director John Roberts.

"The default figures recorded on our Bureau for the third quarter would suggest that the stress on business is more significant than the survey findings indicated," Roberts said.

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