New data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that while overall delinquency rates improved for overall debt burdens, new delinquencies rose slightly for auto loans and mortgages and remained elevated for credit cards.
The New York Fed found that aggregate delinquency rates improved in the second quarter of 2026, with 4.7% of outstanding debt in some stage of delinquency.
“Delinquency rates across most products have held steady over the past two years,” said Joelle Scally, economic policy advisor at the New York Fed. “Still, new delinquencies for auto loans and credit cards remain at elevated levels, a trend we’ll continue to monitor.”
Credit card debt that is over 30 days delinquent has remained relatively steady at about 9% of outstanding balances since it reached that level in 2024, while auto loans are at about 8% and mortgages around 4%.
INFLATION COOLED IN JULY BUT REMAINED ELEVATED AS FED WEIGHS RATE HIKES
For debt flowing into serious delinquency, which is defined as 90 days or more past due, those transitions have held relatively steady over the past year but have edged slightly higher.
Credit card delinquencies were slightly higher than a year ago, rising from 6.93% to 6.97% when comparing the second quarter of 2025 to 2026, respectively.
The share of auto loans that entered serious delinquency also rose over that period, rising from 2.93% to 3% when comparing the second quarter of 2025 to 2026. Mortgages entering serious delinquency also ticked higher from 1.29% to 1.52% in that period.
AUTO LOAN REFINANCING: HOW IT WORKS AND WHEN IT COULD SAVE YOU MONEY
Student loans were a notable exception, with the resumption of reporting defaulted student debt causing some distortions after the pandemic era pause on defaults concluded.
When excluding charged-off debt, new credit card delinquencies have been at around 3% of balances since 2024, with the most recent reading at 2.95%. Credit card debt that reached 90 days past due accounted for 6.97% of the balance in the latest quarter, while those that are beyond 90 days past due were at 2.3%.
The New York Fed noted in its analysis that, from the third quarter of 2022 to the first quarter of 2026, the percentage of credit card balances that were more than 90 days delinquent increased from 7.6% to 12.8%.
FED DISSENTERS WARN INFLATION COULD BECOME ENTRENCHED WITHOUT MONETARY POLICY TIGHTENING NOW
That stock figure includes charged-off debt, the inclusion of which was noted by economists as differing from the flows into delinquency that reflect a relatively steady level of consumer health.
New York Fed economists said they found the “stock delinquency rate is rising because of a pool of stale, charged-off debts that lenders have been reporting for longer durations, rather than a fundamental worsening in the incidence of delinquency.”
