What Credit Crunch? Study Finds Revolving Credit Lines Soaring

NEW YORK – The talk may be of a “credit crunch,” but U.S. households have access to more credit than ever, according to a new survey. According to Mail Monitor, a credit card direct mail tracking service offered by the research firm Synovate, U.S. households now have access to an average of $26,317 of revolving credit on their cards while average incomes are around $60,000. Andrew Davidson, VP-competitive tracking services for Synovate's US Financial Services Group, said the ratio of available credit to income has been steadily climbing, in line with inflation, over the past four years. “However, in the last 12 months, it jumped from 50% to 56%,” said Davidson. “This 6% increase is more than double the annual rate of inflation and is a direct response to the current economic climate.” The company said its research shows the average U.S. household credit card debt is $6,970 up from $5,084 four years ago.