Americans' Debt Hits a Record $13.1 Trillion

American households’ outstanding debt climbed to an all-time high of $13.1 trillion in the October-December period, according to data released Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It marked the fourth straight quarter in which borrowing reached a record.

Debt balances increased from the previous quarter in all but one category, including a 3.2 percent gain in credit-card borrowing that was the second-largest since 2007 and a record level of auto loans. At the same time, 7.55 percent of credit-card balances were in serious delinquency -- those 90 days or more past due -- the highest since the first quarter of 2016, while the 4.05 percent delinquent share of car loans was the biggest since 2012.