Consumer Credit Defaults in Mild Decline

Consumer credit defaults fell slightly in January, according to new data released by S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian.

The composite rate on January’s S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices was 0.96 percent, down one basis point from the previous month. On the homeowner front, the first mortgage default was unchanged last month at 0.84 percent and the second mortgage default rate fell two basis points to 0.65 percent.

Outside of mortgages, the auto loan default rate was unchanged at 1.04 percent, but the bank card default rate increased three basis points to 2.52 percent.

David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, praised the mortgage default rates for keeping a sense of economic stability. “The small decline in first mortgage defaults offset any damage in bank cards,” he stated.