Consumer Debt Increases

CREDIT CARDS

Average bank card debt increased to $5,710, a 1.57 percent increase from the previous quarter’s $5,621. The average remains 6 percent higher than the same period a year ago, when it was $5,387.

The ratio of credit card borrowers delinquent on one or more of their credit cards increased to 1.09 percent in the third quarter, up 4.8 percent over the previous quarter. On a year-over-year basis, the national rate has risen 5.8 percent from 1.03 percent in the third quarter of 2007.

AUTO LOANS

The national 60-day auto delinquency rate – the ratio of auto loan borrowers 60 or more days past due – increased between the second and third quarter from 0.68 percent to 0.80 percent. The delinquency rate increased 15.9 percent compared with the third quarter a year ago.

Average auto debt nationally decreased slightly in the third quarter from $12,869 to $12,861. Year-over-year auto debt increased 1.1 percent.

HOME MORTGAGES

Mortgage loan delinquency – the ratio of borrowers 60 or more days past due – increased for the seventh straight quarter, hitting a national average high of 3.96 percent for the first nine months of 2008 – 54 percent higher than the same period last year.

Average national mortgage debt per mortgage borrower rose slightly – 0.2 percent – to $192,287 from the previous quarter’s $191,681. Average national mortgage debt dropped 3.45 percent year over year, compared to $199,168 in the third quarter of 2007.

Source: The reports are compiled from TransUnion’s database of 27 million anonymous consumer records randomly sampled every quarter from the company’s national consumer credit database.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.