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The lowdown on loan delinquencies

Rates are lower than pre-recession levels...except for mortgages

We heard a lot about the surge in mortgage delinquencies during the past recession. In fact, many believe this was the origin of the crisis. FRED has delinquency data so let’s see how things look now.

The delinquency rates in the graph show the proportion of loans from the 100 largest U.S. banks that are more than 30 days past due. Mortgage delinquency is now considerably lower than at the height of the Great Recession, but it is still high compared with the two decades prior. In fact, it’s also higher than credit card delinquencies, something that could not have been foreseen before the past recession. The fact that credit card delinquencies are at their lowest recorded levels is part of the explanation, though. Delinquencies on leases and commercial loans are also at their lowest, or close to it, in the past 30 years or so. Thus, the mortgage market still hasn’t shaken its problems from the crisis, while other loans types are doing remarkably well.

How this graph was created: Search for “loan delinquency” and click on any relevant result. Look in the notes and click on the release table. Check the series you want displayed and click on “Add to Graph.”

Suggested by Christian Zimmermann.

View on FRED, series used in this post: DRBLACBS, DRCCLACBS, DRLFRACBS, DRSFRMACBS


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