While student, auto and credit card balances are at or near record levels, housing debt is shrinking, credit quality is weakening a bit and lending standards, at least in some sectors, are tightening.

Consumer lending should also be a bright spot, while mortgage lending could be suppressed by rising rates and tight housing supplies.

More consumers fell behind on their loans in the third quarter of 2018, even as average wages rose and the unemployment rate fell to a 50-year low.

Mortgage debt outstanding remains below pre-crisis levels and home equity is growing, even as overall consumer debt is on pace to surpass its previous 2008 peak by $1 trillion, according to LendingTree.

The post-recession boom in auto loans and credit cards for borrowers with marred credit histories has been winding down in recent months.

The news of the data breach cast a shadow over relatively strong first-quarter earnings for the Atlanta bank.

Late-payment rates at banks declined in nine out of the 11 consumer loan categories tracked by the American Bankers Association, including credit cards, auto loans and personal loans.

The information collection effort is consistent with acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney's efforts to set the agency on a more pro-industry, anti-enforcement course.

In some states, total mortgages outstanding are at all-time highs, but in others hard hit by the financial crisis they remain well below their 2008 peaks, the New York Fed said Tuesday in its quarterly report on household debt.

For many newcomers to the U.S., establishing credit is a big challenge. A handful of entrepreneurs are developing tools to help verify their financial histories.