(Yahoo! Finance) - Americans fell a bit further behind on their credit cards and other loans last quarter, as household debt reached an all-time high, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported on Wednesday.
The numbers offered a mixed overall picture of how borrowers are faring in the face of lingering high interest rates. Mortgage delinquencies bumped up slightly but remained near their two-decade lows, as homeowners continued to benefit from low, locked-in monthly payments.
But there were signs of stress elsewhere: The share of credit card balances more than 30 days past due hit 11.1%, the highest since early 2012. The total share of debt in delinquency inched up to 3.5%, from 3.2% in the spring.
The country’s overall debt load reached a new peak of $17.9 trillion, thanks to across-the-board growth in mortgage, auto, credit card, education, and other consumer debt.
In a positive development, incomes have grown faster than borrowing, the NY Fed’s researchers noted in a blog post, meaning that most households may be better positioned to handle their obligations. The country’s collective debt-to-income ratio in the third quarter was 82%, compared to 86% pre-pandemic.
Growing delinquencies appeared to be concentrated in younger and possibly lower-income borrowers, who are more likely to be dealing with credit card debt or a car loan than a mortgage, the researchers noted.
“Although household balances continue to rise in nominal terms, growth in income has outpaced debt,” Donghoon Lee, economic research adviser at the New York Fed, said in a statement. “Still, elevated delinquency rates reveal stress for many households, even amid some moderation in delinquency trends this quarter.”
