U.S. Credit Card Delinquency Rate Over 90 Days Rises to 13.1%
The delinquency rate for U.S. credit card accounts over 90 days has risen to 13.1%, the highest level in 15 years, approaching historical peaks.
This data reflects a deterioration in consumers' repayment ability under pressure from high interest rates and living costs, with the delinquency ratio significantly increasing compared to previous periods.
Retail consumers are reducing spending and delaying repayments due to increased debt burdens, while banks and financial institutions are strengthening provisions for bad debts in response to these events. Holders of consumer finance assets are under pressure, with funds flowing into defensive bonds and cash-like assets.
Credit card issuers are tightening new card approvals and raising interest rates to control risks.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
The U.S. credit card delinquency data reached historical highs after the 2008-2009 financial crisis, and there was a notable increase during the high inflation period of 2022-2023. The current level of 13.1% reflects the ongoing impact of geopolitical conflicts during Trump's second term that have driven up energy prices, particularly affecting middle- and low-income households, similar to consumer debt performance in past economic stress tests.
In terms of capital pathways, banks are reallocating resources from consumer loans to safer asset classes by increasing loan loss reserves and tightening credit issuance, motivated by the need to address potential peaks in bad debts while strategically protecting their balance sheets and leaving room for possible Federal Reserve easing policies.
Similar to the large-scale write-offs by banks after the 2008 credit card crisis, the current U.S. consumer finance sector is transitioning from post-pandemic expansion to a controlled phase of debt deleveraging, with credit cards, as the highest leverage product for consumers, being the most significantly impacted.
This fundamentally represents a capital concentration-driven restructuring of the industry chain. The high delinquency rate alters the pricing power structure of consumer credit, as the declining repayment capacity of consumers forces capital to shift from high-yield consumer finance to low-risk government bonds and high-quality corporate bonds, preventing systemic credit losses from spreading to the overall financial system.
ABAB News · Law of Cognition
Consumer prosperity is borrowed through credit cards, and crisis liquidation also begins with credit cards. The higher the delinquency rate, the faster banks defend, and the lower the economic temperature. Debt always accumulates quietly until the repayment date becomes a systemic alarm.