US Credit Card Balances hits $1.13 trillion

[bjl584]

Credit card balances jump to new $1.13 trillion record at end of 2023 (cnbc.com)

[ua_guy]

It's not so much the total balance that concerns me as the delinquency rate. The article does not mention that, sadly, which I think is a key piece. Here it is from the Federal Reserve bank of New York. Credit card delinquencies jumped from 4.01% to 6.36% in Q4 23.

Both articles mention this is particularly an issue with young and lower income households - i.e. anyone less resilient to price changes or interest rate hikes.

For comparison, I have a low interest credit card through a bank which I do not use for financing... The rate is 13.24% which is absolutely insane--but low for a standard rate now. My crappy cash rewards card is at almost 20%, also bonkers. I'd say while the consumer has the owness here to use credit responsibly, it's not like banks are helping the situation.

https://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevent...tudent%20loans.

[disneysteve]

The economy is doing well so consumer confidence is up which leads to people being comfortable taking on more debt.