Friday, January 09, 2015WASHINGTON -- Consumers are managing their finances more responsibly as evidenced by paying more of their bills on time, the American Bankers Association said Thursday.
“Delinquencies continued to decline in the third quarter, falling in seven of the 11 categories as the economy improved, the ABA Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin reported.
The composite ratio, which tracks delinquencies in eight categories of closed-end installment-loans, fell six basis points (0.06%) to 1.51% of all accounts, something the ABA described as “a record low that is well under the 15-year average of 2.30%.”
A loan is defined as delinquent when it’s 30 days or more overdue.
Delinquencies in eight categories of closed-end loans:
Delinquencies in three categories of open-end loans:
“Bank-card delinquencies have hovered near 15-year lows with only minor fluctuations over the past two years and we expect that trend to continue,” said the ABA’s chief economist, James Chessen, in a prepared statement.
As the economy continues its recovery, “people clearly are ready to spend again,” Chessen observed, and most Americans “continue to keep debt at manageable levels.”
The recovery is housing continues but at a slower pace than other sectors. Even so, property-improvement and home-equity loan delinquencies fell slightly, the economist pointed out, as home-equity line of credit delinquencies rose two basis points.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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