US Consumers Keep Tapping Credit Even as More Fall Behind on Payments
- Credit-card balances jumped in the third quarter, NY Fed found
- Transitions into delinquency rose for most types of debt
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US households tapped their credit cards more in the third quarter, when strong spending helped to power blockbuster economic growth. But Millennials and people with student debt and auto loans are falling further behind on payments.
Household debt increased by $228 billion last quarter, bringing the total to $17.3 trillion, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in a report on Tuesday. That included a $48 billion rise in credit-card balances to $1.08 trillion, marking the eighth straight quarter of year-over-year increases, the report found.