Defaults on credit card loans are skyrocketing in the US.
Lenders are now witnessing a 14-year high in credit card defaults, reports the Financial Times.
The bad credit forced lenders to collectively write off a whopping $46 billion in loans that are considered seriously delinquent in the first nine months of 2024.
Based on data compiled from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the US banking industry information platform BankRegData, the figure represents a 50% year-over-year increase.
According to BankRegData, Capital One customers are facing the highest credit card delinquencies, with a total delinquent amount of $7.68 billion, representing 5.36% of their credit card loans.
Next is Citibank with $4.79 billion (2.93%) in delinquencies, followed by Synchrony Bank at $4.50 billion (5.02%), JPMorgan Chase at $4.10 billion (2.16%), Discover Bank at $3.9 billion (3.93%) and Bank of America at $2.56 billion (2.54%).
The rapid rise in credit card loan defaults is a sign of strained consumer finances after years of high inflation and the subsequent rise in interest rates.
Mark Zandi, head of Moody’s Analytics, tells FT that consumer spending power has clearly diminished in most households.
“High-income households are fine, but the bottom third of US consumers are tapped out. Their savings rate right now is zero.”
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