Consumer Loan Delinquencies Fell in Third Quarter as U.S. Job Losses Ease

[Purveyor]

By Steve Geimann

Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Late payments on bank-card accounts, property improvement loans and borrowing for car purchases fell in the third quarter as consumers cut spending and paid off debt, the American Bankers Association reported.

Delinquencies in an index of eight types of consumer loans fell to 2.23 percent from 2.35 percent in the second quarter, the ABA said today in a statement. Declines were recorded in six of eight types of loans, the most since 2007, the group said.

“It’s always a good sign when delinquencies decline, but they’re still relatively high,” ABA Chief Economist James Chessen said in an e-mailed statement. “Until the economy generates more jobs and the housing sector stabilizes, they’re likely to stay that way.”

U.S. jobs losses eased in the third quarter, as the economy shed an average 199,000 jobs a month from July through September, down from 428,000 in the preceding quarter. Unemployment fell in November to 10 percent, retreating from a 26-year high 10.2 percent in October, the Labor Department said Dec. 4.

Delinquencies may be near a peak as U.S. job losses slow, although Chessen described the economy as weak and said late payments on housing-related loans continued to rise.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20603037&sid=a5GOTv_xkLQA

[denem]

1. Oh. Oh. The 'We've Had it' crowd' won't like this at all.

Expect derision, dismissal, or at best countless counter examples. You see, the US economy's failure is systemic. Evidence of a cyclic turning is verboten.

Or when all else fails, bitch about TARP.

[Kahuna]

2. Why do they hate America?

:shrug: