ARLINGTON, Va.—Total consumer credit rose 2.1% in October (seasonally-adjusted, annualized), up 0.3% versus a year ago.
"Revolving credit contracted by $5.5 billion, reversing last month's $2.6 billion expansion – the only gain in the last eight months," said NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long. "Non-revolving credit growth accelerated in October and is likely to continue growing at a steady pace."
Referencing the Fed's latest Senior Loan Officer Survey, Long noted banks continued to tighten standards on auto and credit card loans during the third quarter.
"As COVID cases reach new highs, the recovery is clearly slowing, and only a vaccine offers substantial hope for a turnaround. NAFCU expects stagnant consumer credit growth into the spring," Long added.
Total consumer credit for credit unions rose 2.5% from a year earlier, above the overall growth of 0.3%. However, total consumer credit at banks continued to decline and is now down 4.5%.
From a year prior, credit unions' share of the market grew 0.3 percentage points to 12%, the Fed data show. Meanwhile, banks' share fell two percentage points to 39.8% and financial companies' share rose to 13.3%.