WASHINGTON—U.S. credit card debt hit $870 billion, the highest total ever, as of December 2018, according to the data from the Federal Reserve.
Credit card balances rose by $26 billion from the prior quarter. Nearly 480 million credit cards are now in circulation, up by more than 100 million since hitting bottom after the recession a decade ago, according to the Fed data.
Approximately 37 million credit card accounts had a 90-plus days delinquent mark added to their credit report last quarter, an increase of about two million from the fourth quarter of 2017.
In aggregate, credit card limits rose for the 24th consecutive quarter, with a 1.5% increase in the fourth quarter of 2018, Bloomberg noted.