ABA Consumer Delinquency Bulletin: 4th Quarter 2011

Delinquencies in all 11 loan categories tracked by the American Bankers Association's Consumer Delinquency Bulletin declined in the final quarter of 2011 as the economy showed signs of continued improvement.

ABA's Chief Economist Jim Chessen noted that, "You can't get a better consumer credit report card than this," adding, "It's very rare that delinquencies improve in every single loan category. The last time that happened was in the fourth quarter of 2004."

Chessen said consumers have reason to feel positive, "The economic tide at the end of 2011 lifted most boats. The deleveraging of consumer credit is paying dividends now. Consumers are being careful about taking on new debt; they're managing the debt they do have much better and the amount of debt as a portion of income is going down."

Chessen's biggest concern now is retail gas prices which have risen 71 cents per gallon since tensions increased in the Middle East over Iran's nuclear program in mid-December. "That's $70 billion that could have gone towards other kinds of spending or to pay down debt," he said.


To learn more, view the press release: http://www.aba.com/Press+Room/0404124...

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