Throughout all categories, consumer debt reached $16.9 trillion in 2022, which is about $1.3 trillion higher than it was just one year prior. Balances rose through all of the major categories.
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The total debt hit nearly $17 trillion during the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of 2.4%. The fourth quarter saw a jump of about $394 trillion from the previous three-month span.
Credit card balances also rose by nearly 6.6% during the quarter to $986 billion, which marks the highest quarterly growth recorded.
Mortgage balances rose about $1 trillion from a year ago and now sits at $11.9 trillion. Mortgage loans considered in serious delinquency of over 90 days rose to a rate of .57%, which happens to be double from the previous year.
Other notable increases:
Auto loan debt delinquencies rose .6% percentage points to 2.2%
Credit card debt jumped by .8 percentage points to 4%
Auto loan debt grew to $1.55 trillion
Credit card debt rose to nearly $1 trillion
Wilbert van der Klaauw, economic research advisor at the New York Fed said, “Credit card balances grew robustly in the fourth quarter, while mortgage and auto loan balances grew at a more moderate pace, reflecting activity consistent with pre-pandemic levels.”
Credit card debt continues to increase
Klaauw also added, “Although historically low unemployment has kept consumers’ financial foot generally strong, stubbornly high prices and climbing interest rates may be testing some borrowers’ ability to repay their debts.”
One of the main reasons for the increased customer debt is an increase in federal government borrowing. The total U.S. government debt is nearly $31.5 trillion.