ARLINGTON, Va.—Total consumer credit rose 6.9% at a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate in October and is up 8.1% compared to a year ago.
Revolving credit – primarily credit cards – rose 10.4% and is up 15% compared to October 2021. Non-revolving credit – primarily auto loans and education loans – rose 5.8% during the month and is up 6% from a year ago, according to new federal government data.
“Consumer credit balances grew by $27.1 billion in October, slightly higher than forecasted,” said NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long. “Overall, balances are still slightly below the pre-COVID trend following the sharp deleveraging in 2020 followed by the rapid buildup more recently.
"In the Federal Reserve’s latest Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey, ‘moderate net shares of banks reported tightening lending standards for credit card loans and other consumer loans.’ Meanwhile, non-revolving debt has been growing at a more modest pace," continued Long.
CU, Bank Share
The data show total consumer credit for credit unions rose 0.5%, on a seasonally adjusted basis, in October, compared to a 0.7% gain for banks and 0.6% increase for financial companies. From a year prior, total consumer credit at credit unions rose 17.7%, while banks experienced a 12.2% gain and financial companies fell 0.3%.
Over the past 12 months, credit unions’ share of the market rose 1.1 percentage points to 13.1%. Banks’ share rose 1.6 percentage points to 41.9%, and financial companies' share fell one percentage point to 12.2%, the data indicate.
“NAFCU expects consumer credit to continue expanding in the fourth quarter as households tap available credit during the holiday shopping season,” concluded Long.
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