WASHINGTON—Total consumer credit rose 10.1%, at a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate, in April and is up 7.5% compared to a year ago.
Revolving credit - primarily credit cards - rose 19.6 % during April and is up 13.1% compared to April 2021. Non-revolving credit – primarily auto loans and education loans – rose 7.1% this month and is up 5.8% from a year ago, according to new data from the federal government.
“Consumer credit rose by $38.1 billion to hit a record total of $4.57 trillion in April,” said NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long. “While the growth rate decelerated in April, it still marks the third month in a row with $30+ billion in additional credit.
"After households paid down debt during the pandemic, balance sheets are clearly returning to normal," added Long. "For now, borrowers are staying current on payments.”
Increase at Credit Unions
Total consumer credit for credit unions rose 2.1%, on a seasonally adjusted basis, in April, compared to a 1.4% gain for banks and 0.2% increase for financial companies. From a year prior, total consumer credit at credit unions rose 10.8%, while banks experienced a 13% gain and financial companies rose 1.9%.
Over the past 12 months, credit unions’ share of the market rose 0.4 percentage points to 12.4%. Banks’ share rose by 1.9 percentage points to 41.2%, and financial companies' share fell by 0.8 percentage points to 12.8%, according to NAFCU.
Looking Ahead
“The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Consumer Credit Panel indicates that delinquency rates are below their 2020Q1 levels across all loan categories,” noted Long. "Despite rising interest rates, NAFCU expects nonmortgage consumer debt to expand at a solid pace over the remainder of the year due to high inflation and spare borrowing capacity on household balance sheets.”
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