Delinquencies on Credit Cards Flat in Q4; Auto and Home Equity Arrears Rise

While it looks like more people are paying back their credit card debt more often (note to self…), auto and home equity loans: not so much.

The American Bankers Association, in its quarterly survey of consumer loans, reported Thursday that late payments on home equity loans rose to 1.92 percent in the October-December period. That was up sharply from 1.79 percent in the prior quarter and the highest since the first quarter of 2006.

The home loan performance comes as no real surprise.  Subprime mortgages are returning like a bad belch, and the effect has sent ripples of panic through the industry.

The American Bankers Association’s survey, meanwhile, also showed that the delinquency rate on "indirect" auto loans, which are arranged through dealerships, shot up to 2.57 percent in the fourth quarter, the highest since the second quarter of 2001, when the economy was in a recession. Late payments on other auto loans, however, dipped slightly.