The total amount of household debt in the United States was $13.3 trillion at the end of the second quarter of 2018, $82 billion higher than the first quarter and the 16th consecutive quarter in which the total increased. The $13.3 trillion is $618 billion higher than the previous record, set during the third quarter of 2008, just as the economy was collapsing, according to data released today by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
A summary of data points from today’s report:
- The percentage of credit cards where no payment has been received for at least 90 days dropped to 7.9%, from 8.0% at the end of the first quarter.
- The percentage of individuals with an account in collections fell 23.4% between the third quarter of 2017 and the second quarter of 2018, from 12.3% to 9.4%. This is largely due to changes in the reporting requirements of collection agencies.
- The number of credit inquiries within the past six months — an indicator of consumer credit demand — was roughly unchanged, and remains among the lowest levels seen in the history of the data.
Among the loan categories tracked by the report — mortgage, home equity lines of credit, auto loans, and student loans — only student loans saw a quarter-over-quarter increase in delinquency rates.
Even with the increase in household debt, there appeared to be little cause for concern regarding delinquency and default rates, largely due to a strong labor market, the report concluded.
While the number of individuals with a debt in collections decreased — due to changes in credit reporting — the amount in collections increased nearly $100, on average, to just under $1,400.
