Delinquency rate up on consumer loans

Delinquency rate up on consumer loans

St. Paul Pioneer Press
Friday January 4, 2008 Pg 2C

Late payments on a cluster of consumer loans, including those for autos, home improvement and certain home-equity loans, climbed in the summer to their highest point since the country's last recession in 2001. The American Bankers Association said Thursday the delinquency rate on a composite of consumer loans increased to 2.44 percent in the July-to-September quarter. That was up sharply from 2.27 percent in the previous quarter and was the highest late-payment rate since the second quarter of 2001. Payments are considered delinquent if they are 30 or more days past due. The survey is based on information supplied by more than 300 banks nationwide. Late payments on credit cards, meanwhile, dipped during summer. The delinquency rate on credit cards dropped to 4.18 percent in the third quarter, down from 4.39 percent in the second quarter.