Noticeable pockets of Americans — renters, and lower- and middle-income borrowers — are running up their credit cards balances, and increasing numbers are falling behind on their debts. It’s the latest sign that while the U.S. economy is broadly healthy, the last two years of inflation have sapped much of the savings of vulnerable Americans, possibly leading to further deterioration of their financial health this year. The credit rating company Moody’s says credit card delinquency and charge-off rates are well above 2019 levels. They re expected to keep climbing. Americans held more than $1.05 trillion on their credit cards in the third quarter, a historic high, and the average credit card rate is the highest it s ever been since the Fed started tracking the data.
Noticeable pockets of Americans — renters, and lower- and middle-income borrowers — are running up their credit cards balances, and increasing numbers are falling behind on their debts. It’s the latest sign that while the U.S. economy is broadly healthy, the last two years of inflation have sapped much of the savings of vulnerable Americans, possibly leading to further deterioration of their financial health this year. The credit rating company Moody’s says credit card delinquency and charge-off rates are well above 2019 levels. They re expected to keep climbing. Americans held more than $1.05 trillion on their credit cards in the third quarter, a historic high, and the average credit card rate is the highest it s ever been since the Fed started tracking the data.
While the U.S. economy is broadly healthy, pockets of Americans have run through their savings and run up their credit card balances after battling inflation for more than two years.