Consumers increasingly fell behind on their payments in several loan categories in the third quarter as economic growth cooled.
Delinquency rates rose for closed-end home equity loans and mobile home loans, the American Bankers Association said in its quarterly survey on consumer delinquencies released Tuesday. But there were fewer consumers late on their home equity line of credit payments.
Slower growth in new jobs and household income contributed to the uptick in the rate of consumers who are at least 30 days late on loan payments, James Chessen, the ABA's chief economist, said in a news release. The composite ratio, which measures delinquencies on eight closed-end loan products, increased five basis points to 1.41%.
The delinquency rate on closed-end home equity loans rose to 2.91% from 2.9%, the ABA said. However, late payments on HELOCs fell to 1.31% from 1.34%. In addition, mobile home loan delinquencies rose to 3.59% from 3.55%.
Delinquencies on loans used for property improvements fell four basis points to 0.87%. The 30-day delinquency rate on personal loans rose to 1.52% from 1.41%.
"The steady decline in home-related delinquencies has been a bright spot as they grind their way back to pre-recession levels," said Chessen. "We expect this trend to continue as the housing market keeps gaining strength."
The ABA's data is based on a survey of banks nationwide.
The lags in the U.S. economy naturally reversed some of the improvement in delinquency rates seen over the past few quarters, Chessen said.
"A good economy and lower delinquency rates go hand in hand," he said.
Still, delinquency rates remain near historically low levels, he said.
