From Bloomberg:
Consumer delinquency rates are dropping at U.S. retailers and banks such as American Express Co. and Bank of America Corp., signaling an incipient lending thaw that may spur economic growth.Past-due loans at Bank of America, the second-largest card lender, fell for a fifth month in April and by the most in four years, while AmEx’s delinquencies were down 34 percent from a year earlier. Target Corp., the second-largest U.S. discount retailer, last week reported its lowest delinquency rate in the latest quarter since the second quarter of 2008.
Let's look at some data:
Starting in 2008, households started to decrease their debt holdings. Considering the overall level (there was nearly as much household debt as GDP) this was a healthy development.
As a result, debt service payments decreased, as did
The household financial obligations as a percent of disposable income.
