ARLINGTON, Va.—Total consumer credit rose 4.4% in November (seasonally-adjusted, annualized), up 0.4% versus a year ago.
"Revolving credit contracted once again and has now fallen in eight of the last nine months," said NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long. "Nonrevolving credit is almost back to its pre-pandemic level, as interest rates remain at all-time lows and consumers shift spending to big-ticket items.
"Lenders have tightened standards through the pandemic and that trend looks unlikely to reverse as the latest Senior Loan Officer Survey showed only 4.4% of banks eased standards on credit cards and only 3.8% eased standards on auto loans," Long added. “NAFCU expects flat growth in consumer credit for several months, followed by a slow recovery into summer.”
Total consumer credit for credit unions rose 0.2% over the month, representing a 3% rise from a year earlier.
Over the past 12 months credit unions’ share of the market has risen 0.3% to 11.9%. Meanwhile, banks’ share fell two percentage points to 40%, while financial companies’ share has risen 0.3% to 13.3%.