PYMNTS Daily Data Dive: Credit Card Debt At Pre-Crisis Levels

Consumers appear to be throwing caution to the wind now that the pain of the 2007 to 2008 recession has subsided to a dull ache; credit card debt is rising at a troubling rate. Meanwhile, Nancy Bush, a banking analyst at NAB research, is warning that “the environment can change rapidly.” Rather than be lulled into a false sense of security by low interest rates, Bush is warning consumers to heed the actions of the banks. Synchrony Financial, Capital One and JPMorgan Chase all increased their loan loss reserves. Although interest rates remain low, any unexpected event could push interest rates up and increase borrower defaults.

Here are the numbers:

$18 billion | The amount of U.S. credit card debt that has been added in the last three months alone

$375 million | The amount that Capital One has added to its loan loss reserves for U.S. credit cards

$250 million | The amount that JPMorgan Chase has added to its loan loss reserves for U.S. credit cards

26% | The growth in SunTrust’s credit card loans. Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and U.S. Bank saw loan growth of 10, 12 and 16 percent, respectively

12% to 14% | Average annual interest rates