IMGCAP(1)]
Lenders in Europe wrote off the most bad card debts in a year in the second quarter, according to Standard & Poor's Corp.
The chargeoff rate on card loans included in about $56 billion of asset-backed bonds monitored by S&P rose 50 basis points from the first quarter, to 6.9%, according to a report the agency issued Wednesday.
Delinquencies, an indicator of future writeoffs, may rise as banks tighten loan conditions, S&P said. That rate rose 1 basis point, to 5.88%, the report said.
"Lenders are tightening their lending criteria, which includes raising rates and lowering credit limits," Laura Dray, an S&P analyst, wrote in the report. "Lenders are also being more cautious to whom they lend, and this means that it is now harder to balance transfer to another credit card with a lower interest rate."
