Credit card debt increases by $50B to new record high

U.S. credit card debt increased by $50 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to recent findings from the New York Fed.

of Latest reportThe total credit card balances through the end of December were $1.13 trillion, an increase of about 4.6% from the third quarter of 2023, according to a report released Tuesday. This appears to be the highest credit card balance since at least 2003.to the state federal reserve system data.

Additionally, total household debt increased by $212 billion in the fourth quarter and now totals $17.5 trillion, according to the Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit.

Auto loan balances increased by $12 billion in the fourth quarter to a total of $1.61 trillion, consistent with the upward trend in loan balances since the second quarter of 2020, the report said. There is.

agency’s press release It noted that the total delinquency rate also rose in the fourth quarter, with 3.1% of outstanding debt “in some stage of delinquency as of the end of December.”

“Delinquencies on credit card and auto loans remain above pre-pandemic levels,” Wilbert van der Klaau, economic research advisor at the New York Fed, said in a statement. “This indicates increased financial stress, especially among young people and low-income households.”

By the end of the fourth quarter, approximately 8.5% of annualized credit card balances and 7.7% of annualized auto loan balances had become delinquent, according to a press release.

“Serious credit card delinquencies increased across all age groups, exceeding pre-pandemic levels, especially among younger borrowers,” the press release states.

According to the report, outstanding mortgage loans increased by $112 billion from the third quarter to a total of $12.25 trillion by the end of December.

The report also revealed that home equity lines of credit surged by $11 billion in the fourth quarter.