Wednesday, May 27, 2026

"Megatron" Is Wrong-a-Tron

 We find "Megatron" proclaiming that credit-card default is at 15-year high.

We find Wolf Street has other numbers.

 ...During the Free-Money era, credit card delinquency rates had dropped to record super-low levels. But when the free money ended, delinquency rates rose out of that trough, and overshot a little but still remained relatively moderate within the 25-year context of the data. And then, two years ago, the free-money hangover started to get worked off, and delinquency rates started declining again, and the trend has continued.

The 30-plus days delinquency rate on credit cards issued by all commercial banks declined to 2.92% in Q1, seasonally adjusted (SA, red in the chart), the lowest since Q2 2023, and down from 3.06% a year ago, and from 3.17% two years ago, according to the Federal Reserve, based on regulatory reports filed by all commercial banks. This includes credit cards by subprime-rated cardholders.

The 60-plus days delinquency rate by all credit cards, including private label credit cards (such as store cards), and subprime credit cards, declined to 2.97%, not seasonally adjusted, at the end of Q1, down from 3.09% a year ago, and down from 3.12% two years ago, according to Equifax...

 

You decide

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