Should we be Concerned with Higher Credit Card Delinquencies?

Aug 22, 2023 | Macro Insights, No Bull Economics

Yikes, credit card balances are ramping-up at the same time delinquencies are creeping up? Is the consumer rolling over?

Commentary

The covid consumer was paid well by Uncle Sam to stay home and binge on Netflix. We are hearing rumors of government plans for a return to this outrage, but let’s not go there…
In any case, consumers became rich in terms of their stimmy savings which lasted them much longer than we would have anticipated.
The only good that came from all the stimmy was that consumers didn’t need their credit cards for a while. However, with stimmy savings mostly spent and our pre-covid way of life returning, we are starting to see consumers getting back into the game.
This translates into higher credit card balances to go with higher delinquency rates. However, as evidenced by the chart below, the absolute credit card delinquency rate remains safe, well below historical pre-covid levels. We should be OK for now!

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