According to New York Fed’s most recent Quarterly Report on Household Debt, Americans’ total household debt has risen for the past 16 quarters and the total is now $618 billion higher than the previous peak of $12.68 trillion, in Q3 of 2008. In addition, overall household debt is now 19.2% above the post-financial-crisis low reached during Q2 of 2013. The report is based on data from the New York Fed’s Consumer Credit Panel, a nationally representative sample of individual- and household-level debt and credit records drawn from anonymized Equifax credit data. The New York Fed also issued an accompanying blog post that examines the impact of the removal of third-party collection accounts from credit reports following the implementation of the National Consumer Assistance Plan.
Key takeaways:
- Mortgage balances 9the largest component of household debt) rose by $60 billion during the second quarter, to $9.00 trillion
- Balances on home equity lines of credit (HELOC) continued their downward trend, declining by $4 billion, to $432 billion
- Auto loan balances continued their six-year upward trend, increasing by $9 billion in the quarter, to $1.24 trillion
- Credit card balances rose by $14 billion, or 1.7%, after a seasonal decline in the first quarter
“Aggregate household debt grew for the 16th consecutive quarter in the second quarter of 2018,” said Wilbert van der Klaauw, senior vice president at the New York Fed, “While overall delinquency rates have remained stable at relatively low levels, transition rates into delinquency have fallen noticeably for student debt over the past year, reflecting an improved labor market and increased participation in various income-driven repayment plans.”
Click here to read the full report at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.