Creditnet News Story
Number of delinquent credit cards falls in third quarter
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
By Sam Lee
Consumers continue to concentrate on paying debts.
Card delinquencies, which can affect a consumer's credit score, saw a drop during the third quarter according to a report from TransUnion.
The firm's analysis revealed that the amount of cards that are more than 90 days delinquent fell by 5.98 percent to rest at 1.1 percent for the third quarter. Delinquencies remain about the same as levels seen in the third quarter of 2008 when they came in at 1.09 percent.
Ezra Becker, director of consulting and strategy in TransUnion's financial services group, said the drop in delinquencies could have happened for a number of reasons, including consumers concentrating on trying to pay off their debts in a questionable labor market.
"For the first time in 10 years, third quarter national delinquency rates showed a decrease from the previous quarter, indicating a departure from the usual seasonal patterns," Becker said.
Recent numbers from the Federal Reserve support the idea that consumers are trying to be more proactive when it comes to their credit card debts. The Fed's numbers show that revolving credit dropped at an annual rate of 13.3 percent during September. It also fell 10 percent over the course of the third quarter.
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