ATLANTA In keeping with numbers showing loans grew faster than shares at credit unions, Equifax reported its analysis saw total credit card balances increase for the first time in five years.
In the credit bureau’s latest “National Consumer Credit Trends Report,” Equifax found:
Bank credit card balances increased just slightly from $533.3 billion in July 2012 to $536.5 billion in July 2013.
Student loans increased 11.3% (from $794.6 billion to $884.2 billion);
Auto loans Increased 10.9% (from $745.3 billion to 826.8 billion);
First mortgages decreased 0.9% (from $7.79 trillion to $7.72 trillion);
Home equity installment decreased 4.1% (from $142.3 billion to $136.5); and,
Home equity revolving decreased 8.9% (from $553.2 billion to $504.1 billion).
“Only two major consumer credit segments are currently growing: auto financing and student loans,” said Equifax Chief Economist Amy Crews Cutts. “In all other segments, consumers are reducing their debt burdens, either negatively, through foreclosures and bankruptcies or positively, through payoffs payoffs are dominating in most cases today. We expect mortgage balances to begin rising again over the next several months as new home purchase loans overtake foreclosures and payoffs.”
