Credit Card Debt Hits Record High As Overall Debt Tops $17 Trillion

Girl with credit cards and debt

Photo: Peter Dazeley / The Image Bank / Getty Images

The amount of credit card debt held by Americans hit a record high in the second quarter, topping $1 trillion for the first time. A new report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed that credit card debt increased by $45 billion in the three-month period from April through June, reaching $1.03 trillion.

It is the fifth consecutive quarter in which credit card debt has increased.

The report showed that household debt rose by $16 billion in the second quarter to reach $17.06 trillion. Overall household debt has risen by nearly $3 trillion since the end of 2019.

Americans did make some headway in paying down debts, with mortgage debt and student loan debt decreasing by $30 and $35 billion, respectively.

Analysts believe that credit card debt will continue to increase in the coming months as inflation continues to keep prices high.

"One trillion dollars in credit card debt is staggering," Matt Schulz, LendingTree's chief credit analyst, told CNBC. "Unfortunately, it is likely only going to keep growing from here."

He also noted that while delinquency rates are extremely low, they could increase in the next quarter as the pause on student loan repayments ends.

"The resumption of student loan payments will be a huge test for many cardholders, shrinking the amount they have to devote to paying off card debt and leaving some people simply unable to make minimum payments at all," Schulz said.


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