US household debt

Americans’ debt accounts climbed “considerably” in the final quarter of 2016, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Household debt totaled $12.58 trillion at December 31, 2016, according to the New York Fed’s latest quarterly report on credit.

Total debt increased by 1.8 percent, or $226 billion, in Q4. That raised household debt just 0.8 percent under the peak reached in the next quarter of 2008 as the US economy was mired in recession.

According to the report, the maximum money was made by Americans since the recession to refinance their mortgages or to pay for new homes. Mortgage originations in the fourth quarter totaled $617 billion.

Last year saw a sharp growth in new auto loans, helping carmakers bill a listing interval of earnings. By a record $ 142 billion, auto loan originations — appearances of new auto balances on customer credit reports — raised in the fourth quarter.

A greater discussion of auto loans and mortgages has been granted to higher-quality borrowers. Approximately 58 percent of all new mortgages in 2016 have been approved for people with credit scores. That was up from a mean of 54% in 2015.

“The issue from a macro standpoint subsequently becomes if the low-income borrowers as a team are big enough to slow down the general economic growth,” said Torsten Slok, Deutsche Bank’s chief Global economist, in a notice on Friday. ” So far banks have responded with a reduction in lending standards.”

Outstanding student loans — the biggest source of debt apart from mortgages — increased by about $ 31 billion to $1.31 trillion.

Delinquency rates were “about stable” in Q4, the New York Fed explained, although late payments on auto loans climbed to a post-recession high.

Source

http://www.businessinsider.com/us-household-debt-credit-ny-fed-q4-2016-2017-2

source http://www.nwsuburban-bankruptcy.com/us-household-debt/