American credit card defaults have surged to the highest levels since the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, as consumers continue to grapple with years of high inflation. In the first three quarters of 2024, credit card lenders wrote off $46 billion in delinquent loan balances, marking a 50 percent increase from the same period last year. These write-offs, considered a highly monitored measure of loan distress, are the highest since 2010, according to industry data gathered by BankRegData.
After several months of blowout consumer credit prints, including two consecutive months in which revolving (i.e., credit card) debt, rose after shrinking 10 of the previous 11 months, America's credit-funded spending spree abruptly slowed in April, when total consumer credit rose by $18.6BN, down from $25.8BN in March (since revised conveniently to $18.6BN), and missing expectations of $20.5BN.
