More measures of recovery in credit card account performance continue to arrive, with the latest from TransUnion seeing the decline in borrower delinquencies.
The 0.6% delinquency rate–which reflects borrowers 90 or more days past due–is down from 0.74% in the prior quarter and 0.92% a year earlier.
The consumer-credit-data firm said the average credit-card debt per borrower rose 0.42% sequentially to $4,699, but was 5.1% lower than a year earlier.
While issuers certainly tightened their credit standards during the recession and many accounts were charged off, consumer behavior is also part of the story.
“National credit card delinquency rates have fallen to levels not seen since 1994 as consumers continue to tighten their spending,” said Ezra Becker, vice president of research and consulting in TransUnion’s financial services business unit. “More important and impactful to the decline in bank card delinquency are that consumers are using credit cards more responsibly; a large number of delinquent accounts have moved to charge-off status; and lenders remain conservative in their underwriting.”
While consumers are clearly becoming more careful about managing their credit accounts, there is no consistent turnaround in consumer borrowing on cards. Consumer card borrowing showed tentative signs of recovery at the end of Q2/2011.