Consumer’s haven’t given their credit cards much of a break despite the worst recession in over 75 years. Consumer credit data remain abysmal, but did show signs of improvement over the first quarter of 2009. According to TransUnion, the 90 day late payment rate rose to 1.17% from 1.04% last year. This was down from 1.32% in the first quarter. The average balance on U.S. credit cards rose to $5,719 from $5,621 last year. The second quarter figure showed a slight decline from $5,776 in the first quarter. TransUnion analyst Ezra Becker sees this as a sign of stabilization: “We’re coming out of the woods,” Becker said, “even if we’re not out of the woods yet.”
Major credit card issuers showed mixed performance during the quarters with most seeing higher delinquency rates:
- Discover Financial:- 5.35%, up from 5.28% in July
- American Express: 4.1%, down from 4.2% in July
- Capital One: 5.1%, up from 4.83% in July
- JP Morgan: 4.8%, up from 4.5% in July
- Bank of America: 7.5%, down from 7.6 in July
Mr. Roche is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Discipline Funds.Discipline Funds is a low fee financial advisory firm with a focus on helping people be more disciplined with their finances.
He is also the author of Pragmatic Capitalism: What Every Investor Needs to Understand About Money and Finance, Understanding the Modern Monetary System and Understanding Modern Portfolio Construction.