not shift your opinion...
We and many others have been very critical of the misleading use of these credit card balance numbers, bcuz they did not account for the different effects of: 1. major write downs of losses, 2. the huge reduction in authorized limits, and 3. the size of the current use of the cards.
While that has been true, these two articles suggest that most of those write downs and reductions have now been accounted for, and that the users ARE paying down their accounts. At least more so than before.
That is both Good News and Bad News.
Good for them, they are not in as much debt, now.
Bad for the economy, bcuz they are not "consuming" as much.
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Here are details:
- CAPITAL ONE: U.S. card charge-offs fell to 8.1 percent of total balances in July from 9.3 percent in June. The company said 4.66 percent of its loans were 30 days or more past due in July, down from 4.79 percent in June and 4.8 percent in May.
For Capital One's international cards, the charge-off rate was 7.86 percent in July, compared with 8.3 percent in June. Capital One's international delinquency rate also eased - to 5.94 percent in July from 6.03 percent in June. The charge-off rate in Capital One's auto loan unit fell to 2.6 percent in July from 2.72 percent in June, and the auto loan delinquency rate fell to 7.72 percent from 7.74 percent.
- DISCOVER: Discover Financial Services said its net charge-offs declined to 7.28 percent in July, from 8 percent in June. Its rate of loans 30 days or more past due slipped to 4.7 percent in July from 4.8 percent in June.
- CHASE: Chase said its net credit losses fell to 7.88 percent of total balances in July, from 8.32 in June. Chase said its rate of loans 30 days or more past due slipped to 4.25 percent in July from 4.3 percent in June.
- BANK OF AMERICA: Bank of America said the share of credit card balances it wrote off as uncollectable fell for the fourth straight month and past-due payments dropped to their lowest point of the year. It said its charge-off rate dropped to 11.39 percent of balances from 11.98 in June.
Bank of America is the among the top three U.S. banks offering credit cards, with about 80 million cards in circulation, according to the Nilson Report, an industry newsletter.
Bank of America said the rate of late payments has fallen to its lowest point of the year, 5.92 percent from 6.16 percent in June. That's a sign that the debt burdens felt by card holders over the past two years is beginning to ease.
- AMERICAN EXPRESS: American Express said its charge-off rate fell to 5.5 percent in July from 5.7 percent the month before and the delinquent card payments 30 days past due slipped to 2.6 percent from 2.7 percent in June.
- ALLIANCE DATA SYSTEMS CORP.: This manager of credit card programs for more than 90 retailers, including Victoria's Secret, Ann Taylor and Pottery Barn, said its net charge-offs fell to $35.4 million, or 8.6 percent of total balances from $36.7 million, or 8.8 percent in June.
Delinquencies among its company-branded credit cards rose to $271.4 million, or 5.7 percent, as of July 31. On the same date a year ago, $251.6 million, or 6 percent, of balances on the cards was delinquent. The Dallas-based company said the increase is consistent with its historical seasonal rise in late payments.
-CITIBANK: The nation's No. 2 card issuer said its credit losses fell to 9.10 percent of balances, down from 10.72 percent in June, which is a restated figure.
Citibank's charge-off rate had been increasing through March when it peaked at above 11 percent.
The New York-based bank, a division of Citigroup Inc., also said fewer customers were falling behind. For July, payments past due by 30 days or more reached 8.32 percent, down from 8.58 percent in June.
=========U.S. credit card losses fall more than expected
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/US-credit-card-losses-fall-rb-1979272670.html?x=0
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Consumers card payment rates up again in July
http://www.azcentral.com/business/consumer/articles/2010/08/16/20100816credit-card-rates.html
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