Consumer credit likely to 'expand' says NAFCU Chief Economist

“Consumer credit balances grew by $27.1 billion in October, slightly higher than forecasted. Revolving debt grew at an accelerated pace of 10.4 percent. Growth in nonrevolving credit such as auto and student loans decelerated from 6.1 percent to 5.8 percent. Overall, balances are still slightly below the pre-COVID trend following the sharp deleveraging in 2020 followed by the rapid buildup more recently. Lenders are beginning to curtail the provision of revolving credit. In the Federal Reserve’s latest Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey, ‘moderate net shares of banks reported tightening lending standards for credit card loans and other consumer loans.’ Meanwhile, non-revolving debt has been growing at a more modest pace. NAFCU expects consumer credit to continue expanding in the fourth quarter as households tap available credit during the holiday shopping season.”
– NAFCU Chief Economist Curt Long

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