MORTGAGE DELINQUENCIES ESCALATE - Will Credit Card Delinquencies Follow?
OF ALL U.S. COUNTIES - 73% HAVE HIGHER MORTGAGE DELINQUENCY RATES VERSUS 2007. CREDIT CARD DELINQUENCIES CLOSE BEHIND - 71%!
Here's some troubling economic news from The Federal Reserve Bank of New York - while Mortgage Delinquency Rates are up in nearly 3/4 of counties across the nation, rates for delinquency of Consumer Credit Cards is up just about as much.
Over seven out of ten counties across the country report higher credit card delinquency rates compared to last year!
Review the NY Fed's Interactive Map showing Mortgage and Consumer Credit Card Delinquencies across nearly every county in the U.S. (2,838 of them). Shannon County in North Dakota tops the list, with 11% of its Bank Card holders at least 60 days in arrears, and 17% of its mortgages at least 90 days delinquent. (This county has one of the lowest per-capita incomes in the U.S. - hence, the exaggerated numbers here).
Roughly 1,050 counties have Consumer Credit Card Delinquency Rates at two percent or higher - seven showed near-zero delinquency percentages. Near-zero Mortgage Delinquency Rates were seen in 127 U.S. Counties, while 1,100 showed plus-2% mortgage delinquencies.
The NY Fed used Trans Union LLC Trend Data for it's report. The data excludes the 10% least populous counties across the U.S., as the potentially high percentages in these sparsely-populated areas might skew the national figures.
Experts predict the rate of delinquency for mortgages and credit cards will likely continue to rise in 2009. As the economy weakens, and default rates increase, banks are likely to tighten their credit-granting standards even more, as more jittery consumers lose their jobs, face stalled raises in income, and may have more trouble paying their monthly credit card bills.
Says the New York Fed, "The Maps and Data can assist government and community groups in targeting efforts to aid troubled and at-risk households." In addition, they can help legislators and policy makers "develop and prioritize plans to address the impact that widespread mortgage delinquencies and other credit problems have on local communities."
See Sudeep Reddy's post today via Real Time Economics on the Online Wall Street Journal for more info.
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