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The ratio of U.S. bankcard borrowers delinquent on one or more of their bankcards increased to 1.09% in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 1.03% during the corresponding quarter a year ago, according to TransUnion.com's quarterly credit card analysis. Nevada had the highest incidence of delinquency at 1.79%, followed by Florida and Mississippi with 1.45%. North Dakota, Vermont and Utah had the lowest bankcard delinquency incidence rates with 0.7%, 0.7% and 0.76%, respectively. "As expected, bankcard delinquency is again on the rise after experiencing two consecutive quarters of decline," Ezra Becker, principal consultant in TransUnion's financial services group, said in the report. "Although financial institutions have been undertaking proactive measures to mitigate risk in their portfolios, the continued deterioration in the financial and labor markets is having a negative impact on the ability of consumers to repay their debt obligations," Becker said. As worsening economic conditions and the ongoing mortgage crisis continue to erode consumer confidence, TransUnion anticipates an upward trajectory in the national credit card delinquency rate for 2009, possibly reaching as high as 1.4% by the end of next year (CardLine 12/5).
