WASHINGTON—Consumer concern over credit card spending during the pandemic-driven economic downturn is becoming even more clear, according to Federal Reserve data.
For the week ended May 20, the credit card debt U.S. banks held on their balance sheets was down to $769 billion from $860 billion at the beginning of March.
The last time Americans owed that little credit card debt was at the beginning of 2018, Barron’s reported.
“The reason credit card debt has shrunk so rapidly is that Americans have cut their spending even faster than they have lost their jobs. The 10.5% drop in the space of 11 weeks is the steepest decline in American credit card balances on record. Credit card debt fell by 22% during the Great Recession, but it took more than a year,” Barron’s said.