U.S. consumers are defaulting on credit-card payments at a significantly higher rate than last year, according to a Financial Times report citing Moody's data. Credit-card companies were forced to write off 4.58% of payments as uncollectable in the first half of 2007, almost 30% higher year-on-year, the report said. But Moody's said the rate of losses remained well below the 6.29% average seen in 2004, a year before the US enacted a new law that made filing for personal bankruptcy more onerous, the report said
Consider that news with the following three graphs from the St. Louis Federal Reserve.
Total household debt outstanding:
Year-over-year percentage change in household debt:
Household's debt service ratio:
