The number of borrowers who are at their credit limits is approaching its pre-pandemic level, and the percentage of balances that are sliding into delinquency has hit its highest rate in more than a decade, according to new research. Still, card companies are generally expressing optimism about their credit outlooks.

Net charge-offs at the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank increased by more than 80% in the first quarter compared with a year earlier. BofA executives say that the rising losses were in line with the bank's risk appetite.

The blockbuster merger proposal will be reviewed at a time when the Biden administration is expressing skepticism about consolidation. Its analysis will have to account for markets dominated by both big banks and the likes of Visa and Mastercard.

Too few lenders are underwriting unsecured consumer debt, which could help borrowers pay down credit card balances with little risk to lenders.

As U.S. credit card balances continue to march above $1 trillion, the number of newly delinquent credit card users now exceeds the pre-pandemic average and millennials and those with student or auto loans are driving the increase in past-due payments, the New York Fed said.

As the holiday shopping season approaches, late payments on credit cards have surpassed their pre-pandemic levels, according to a new VantageScore report. The consumers showing signs of deterioration include not only subprime borrowers, but also those with prime credit scores.

Adjusted for inflation, consumer spending has largely stalled after surging at the start of the year. Delinquency rates, meanwhile, are ticking up. 

Rising interest rates on loans, greater borrowing and higher fees on deposit accounts all contributed to the increase. "Altogether, this paints a picture of debt that could really start to strain the checkbooks of American families," said Meghan Greene, a researcher at the nonprofit organization that authored the report.

Balances reached nearly $1 trillion at the end of the first quarter, up 17% from a year earlier. The increase reflects higher spending by well-off consumers on travel and entertainment, as well as the pressure that lower-income households are facing from inflation and higher interest rates.

The related rewards are targeted to both new homebuyers and existing mortgage servicing clients.

The credit card issuer Synchrony Financial recently used FICO’s top competitor in a $1 billion deal. The choice is significant for VantageScore, but FICO remains the dominant credit score in the securitization market, according to analysts.

Wells Fargo will start letting customers earn points and miles on their rent payments as the banking giant deepens its push into credit cards. 

As people more heavily use exchanges and other providers of digital-asset-related services, they're registering more beefs with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, too. Experts say it's only a matter of time before the agency invokes its broad authority to police the sector.

COVID-19 quickly altered the hierarchy of borrower debt, with home financing payments taking precedence over credit cards and auto loans, according to TransUnion.

The agency announced it was rescinding seven policy statements issued last year meant to help companies combat fallout from COVID-19 but that the bureau's current chief said came at the expense of consumers.

Credit card balances declined most sharply as consumers cut back their spending due to the coronavirus pandemic and associated shutdown orders, the New York Fed said Thursday. But delinquencies also fell across all debt categories, thanks to government and lender relief efforts.

The pandemic has had a tremendous impact on the global and US economies, household incomes, and consumer spending. The world's most valuable financial services firm is ready to share insight around the global and US effects of COVID-19.

The outbreak has completely upended whatever expectations the industry had heading into 2020. Here's key areas that have been shaped by the pandemic, some potentially forever.

Mastercard has agreed to acquire Finicity for a reported price of $825 million, a move the card brand says will strengthen its open banking platform and expand financial services through more real-time access to data.

The agency has freed companies from reporting requirements and provided flexibility on exams to help them deal with COVID-19 fallout. It has also finished other regulatory relief efforts that were in the pipeline before the pandemic hit.