Consumer Lending (And Risk) Grows | Cross River Real Estate

A recent release from the Federal Reserve Board indicates that consumer credit outstanding grew by a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.9% over the year of 2014, accelerating from the 6.0% growth rate recorded in 2013. At the end of 2014, there was $3.3 trillion in consumer credit outstanding.

The expansion in consumer credit outstanding over the year largely reflected an increase in non-revolving credit outstanding. Non-revolving credit is mostly composed of auto loans and student loans. According to the release, non-revolving credit rose by a seasonally adjusted rate of 8.2%, $183.6 billion, accounting for 86% of the total growth in consumer credit outstanding for the year. The increase in non-revolving credit outstanding in 2014 marks the 5^th consecutive year of growth since the 0.6% decline in 2009. Over this 5-year period, growth in non-revolving credit has averaged 8.2% per year.

Revolving credit, largely composed of credit cards, also contributed to the annual growth of consumer credit outstanding in 2014. Over the year, revolving credit outstanding grew by a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.5%, $30.3 billion, accounting for 14% of the total growth in consumer credit outstanding. Despite its smaller contribution to growth in overall consumer credit outstanding, revolving credit outstanding continues to show signs of recovering. Since declining by 7.6% in 2010, revolving credit outstanding has experienced annual gains in the subsequent 4 years. Moreover, each year of growth in revolving credit has exceeded the increase in the prior year. The 3.5% growth rate in revolving credit recorded over 2014 is the highest rate of growth since the 7.6% increase in 2007.

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http://eyeonhousing.org/2015/02/consumer-lending-and-risk-grows/