Delinquency Rates Rise Amid Debt Surge
Consumer debt in the United States reached a new record high in the first quarter of 2023, surpassing $17 trillion, despite a significant decline in home borrowing. According to the New York Federal Reserve, total consumer borrowing across all categories increased by nearly $150 billion or 0.9% during the January-to-March period. This brought the overall indebtedness up by approximately $2.9 trillion since the pre-Covid period in 2019. Credit card delinquency rates increased by 0.6 percentage point to 6.5%, auto loan delinquency rates rose by 0.2 percentage point to 6.9%, and the overall delinquency rate increased by 0.2 percentage point to 3%, reaching its highest level since the third quarter of 2020. Student loan debt rose slightly to $1.6 trillion, and auto loans also experienced a modest increase, reaching $1.56 trillion.