The distribution of credit score tiers shifted upward during the pandemic. Individuals in all credit score tiers were more likely to move up at least one tier or remain in their own tier during the pandemic, but upward mobility was especially improved for consumers with subprime credit scores.
The past two years of high inflation have been difficult for renters. A substantial percentage of renters missed rent payments, and relatively few renters who missed payments found assistance. Additionally, we show that the transition to homeownership has slowed markedly in the past year. Notably, Black and Hispanic families were less likely than non-Hispanic white families to get a mortgage when interest rates were low.
Mortgage interest rates have been rising sharply in recent months, impacting mortgage borrowers and applicants. Using quarterly HMDA data on closed-end home-purchase loans, we find that monthly payments and debt burdens (as measured by DTI) have increased, with a higher percentage of mortgage application denials reporting DTI as a reason for not qualifying.
Delinquencies on non-student-loan credit products continue to rise for student loan borrowers. This rise could signal payment difficulties when scheduled payments resume, but potential debt cancellation may reduce the number of borrowers at-risk.
New research analyzes how increased car prices are impacting consumers with deep subprime credit scores, finding that costs grew faster and are effectively pricing the most economically vulnerable out of the market.
Consumers, including those with insurance, incur significant charges related to medical care. Nonprofit healthcare providers are required to establish financial assistance policies for consumers who cannot afford services. In this blog, we explore the connection between eligibility for these financial assistance programs and the prevalence of medical collections using our Making Ends Meet Survey.
Housing costs rose rapidly last year but some people feel this inflation more than others. New research shows that low-income renters’ credit card debt increased by nearly 40 percent over the last year, far faster than owners.
This blog post examines recent changes in overdraft and NSF fee revenues reported in call reports to understand how announced changes in overdraft policies affected these revenues.
This post is the fifth in a series documenting trends in consumer credit outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Access to new credit cards has decreased, but access to mortgages and auto loans has increased since the start of the pandemic.
This post is the fourth in a series documenting trends in consumer credit outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit card limits stagnated or declined for most credit score groups early in the pandemic, but have been rising in recent months. Despite a spike in accounts closed by creditors at the start of the pandemic, accounts are not being closed at unusual rates.
This post is the third in a series documenting trends in consumer credit outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The economic disruption of the pandemic does not appear to have caused consumers to run up large credit card balances. The opposite seems to be the case, since April 2020, credit card balances and utilization rates have continued to decline, and the share of credit card borrowers that carry a balance rather than pay in full have also declined.
This post is the second in a series documenting trends in consumer credit outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since July 2020, consumers have transitioned out of assistance to varying degrees across all credit products, but a significant share of mortgage borrowers continue to receive assistance.
New Bureau research examines consumer credit trends through April 2021, finding little increase in delinquencies on credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, and student loans during COVID-19. Delinquency rates also remain lower than pre-pandemic levels, likely as a result of public and private interventions.
In this update to our May 2020 report examining the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on credit applications, we find that credit card inquiries were still 30 percent below their pre-pandemic levels in September, while auto loans were depressed by 20 percent.
We use the Bureau’s Making Ends Meet survey to study whether financially vulnerable consumers have turned to credit card debt during the coronavirus pandemic. We find that credit card debt fell even for consumers who were financially vulnerable before the pandemic.
