Credit card debt declined in the first quarter of 2024; however, with other types of debt rising, consumers may simply be trading one problem for another. CardRatings’ credit card experts explain why this drop in debt might not actually be good news.
The credit reporting system is intended to help lenders accurately assess whether someone is likely to repay a loan. Most information on a credit report represents debts that a consumer voluntarily signed up for, like a mortgage, an auto loan, or a credit card. In recent years, however, medical bills became the most common collection item on credit reports. Research from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2022 showed that medical collections tradelines appeared on 43 million credit reports, and that 58 percent of bills that were in collections and on people’s credit records were medical bills.
TransUnion’s quarterly survey explores how consumers’ personal finances have changed and what changes they expect in the future. The study measures shifting consumer attitudes and behaviors based on the dynamics of income, debt and identity theft. The analyses and insights give consumers a voice and inform businesses’ decision-making as they seek to create economic opportunity for consumers.
Fresh US consumer inflation data published Wednesday is unlikely to sway the Federal Reserve's plans to leave its key lending rate unchanged, but could alter how many rate cuts policymakers pencil in for this year. The annual consumer price index (CPI) came in at 3.3 percent in May, down 0.1 percentage point from April and unchanged on a monthly basis, the Labor Department said in a statement -- slightly below expectations.
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