CHICAGO—While Millennials don’t carry as many credit cards as Boomers or Gen X, a new report indicates they are far from being credit averse.
A TransUnion study shows that adults between the ages of 21 and 34 have a strong appetite for auto loans, opening them at a 21% higher rate than the previous generation. While Millennials take out personal loans at a 98% higher rate than did their parents at the same age, the study found Gen X consumers owned two more credit cards than Millennials when they were the same age, stated Bankrate in its analysis.
“A combination of influences has shaped this trend. Since the implementation of the Card Act of 2009, credit card companies are no longer allowed to solicit new customers on college campuses, which helped contribute to a decline in the number of younger consumers entering the credit card market. At the same time, demand for personal loans has exploded in recent years, aided by the growth of online personal lenders, which came of age as Millennials did,” Bankrate stated.