Net Result of Consumer Credit Card Debt Q1 2009 – Q4 2011
| Net Result in Debt Load | Relative to Same Period Last Year | Relative to Same Period 2 Years Ago | |
| 2011 | + $47,842,874,800 | + 424% | + 577% |
| Q4 2011 | + $45,476,194,400 | + 30% | + 101% |
| Q3 2011 | + $16,921,762,900 | + 156% | + 59% |
| Q2 2011 | + $18,309,178,300 | + 65% | + 366% |
| Q1 2011 | - $32,864,260,800 | - 25% | - 30% |
| 2010 | + $9,136,106,350 | + 191% | |
| Q4 2010 | + $34,999,694,500 | + 54% | |
| Q3 2010 | + $6,612,537,750 | - 38% | |
| Q2 2010 | + $11,090,851,100 | + 182% | |
| Q1 2010 | - $43,566,978,000 | - 8% | |
| 2009 | - $10,018,099,00 | ||
| Q4 2009 | + $22,655,836,000 | ||
| Q3 2009 | + $10,643,657,500 | ||
| Q2 2009 | + $3,929,319,800 | ||
| Q1 2009 | - $47,246,912,300 |
Net Result in Debt Load – Green indicates that consumers decreased their debt relative to the previous quarter. Red indicates they increased their debt relative to the previous quarter.
Relative to Same Period – Green indicates that consumers either paid down more debt or accumulated less debt than they did in same quarter in 2010 and 2009. Red indicates that they either paid down less debt or accumulated more debt than they did in the same quarter in 2010 and 2009.
Consumer Credit Card Debt and Charge-off Data (in Billions):
| Outstanding Revolving Consumer Debt | Outstanding Credit Card Debt | Quarterly Credit Card Charge-Off Rate | Quarterly Credit Card Charge-Off in Dollars | |
| 2011 | $830.4 | $813.8 | ||
| Q4 2011 | $830.4 | $813.8 | 4.53% | $9.2 |
| Q3 2011 | $793.4 | $777.5 | 5.63% | $10.9 |
| Q2 2011 | $787.4 | $771.7 | 5.58% | $10.8 |
| Q1 2011 | $779.6 | $764.0 | 6.96% | $13.3 |
| 2010 | $826.7 | $810.2 | $75.1 | |
| Q4 2010 | $825.7 | $810.2 | 7.70% | $15.6 |
| Q3 2010 | $806.9 | $790.8 | 8.55% | $16.9 |
| Q2 2010 | $817.4 | $801.1 | 10.97% | $22.0 |
| Q1 2010 | $828.5 | $811.9 | 10.16% | $20.6 |
| 2009 | $894.0 | $876.1 | $83.2 | |
| Q4 2009 | $894.0 | $876.1 | 10.12% | $22.2 |
| Q3 2009 | $893.5 | $875.6 | 10.1% | $22.1 |
| Q2 2009 | $905.2 | $887.1 | 9.77% | $21.6 |
| Q1 2009 | $923.3 | $904.8 | 7.62% | $17.2 |
| Q4 2008 | $989.1 | $969.3 |
(Source: CardHub.com, Federal Reserve)
2011
- In 2011, outstanding credit card debt increased relative to its level in 2010: $3,626,000,000
- In 2011 the credit card charge-off rate in dollars was: $44,216,874,800
- Net Result in Debt Load: $47,842,874,800 increase
- CONCLUSION: One might look at the $3.6 billion increase in outstanding credit card debt, together with the fact that credit card defaults came down by more than 40 percent, and come to the conclusion that 2011 was a healthy year when it came to credit card debt. The truth is that most of the real debt increase is masked by the $44.2 billion of credit card debt that Americans defaulted on. In fact, during 2011 Americans accumulated an additional $47.8 billion in credit card debt, which represents a very worrisome increase of 424 percent relative to 2010. As in 2009 and 2010, the only quarter in 2011 that Americans actually paid down their debt was the first quarter of the year.
Q4 2011
- In Q4 of 2011, outstanding credit card debt increased relative to Q3 2011: $36,260,000,000
- In Q4 2011 the credit card charge-off rate in dollars was: $9,216,194,400
- Net Result in Debt Load: $45,476,194,400 increase
- Relative to Q4 2010: 30% more than the increase in the same quarter in 2010
- Relative to Q4 2009: 101% more than the increase in the same quarter in 2009
- CONCLUSION: In Q4 of 2011, when the $9.2 billion write-off is considered, outstanding credit card debt went up by over $45 billion. This is 30 percent more debt accumulation than was accumulated in this quarter last year and a whopping 101 percent more than was accumulated two years ago.
Q3 2011
- In Q3 of 2011, outstanding credit card debt increased relative to Q2 2011: $5,978,000,000
- In Q3 2011 the credit card charge-off rate in dollars was: $10,943,762,900
- Net Result in Debt Load: $16,921,762,900 increase
- Relative to Q3 2010: 156% more than the increase in the same quarter in 2010
- Relative to Q3 2009: 59% more than the increase in the same quarter in 2009
- CONCLUSION: For the first time in 2 years, consumers in 2011 reversed the net pay down from Q1 as early as Q3. As in Q2 2011, what is worrisome about this year is that the debt in Q3 shows a staggering increase of around $16.9 billion, which is 156 percent higher than the increase observed in the same quarter last year and 59 percent higher than the increase in the same quarter two years ago.
Q2 2011
- In Q2 of 2011, outstanding credit card debt increased relative to Q1 2011: $7,546,000,000
- In Q2 2011 the credit card charge-off rate in dollars was: $10,763,178,300
- Net Result in Debt Load: $18,309,178,300 increase
- Relative to Q2 2010: 65% more than the increase in the same quarter in 2010
- Relative to Q2 2009: 366% more than the increase in the same quarter in 2009
- CONCLUSION: As was the case in the previous 2 years, consumers started reversing any debt pay down from the first quarter with a net increase in credit card debt in the second quarter. What is worrisome about 2011 is that the debt in Q2 2011 is a staggering increase of almost $18.3 billion, which is 65 percent higher than the increase observed in the same quarter one year ago and 366 percent higher than the increase observed two years ago.
Q1 2011
- In Q1 of 2011, outstanding credit card debt decreased relative to Q4 2010:$45,158,000,000
- In Q1 2011 the credit card charge-off rate in dollars was: $13,293,739,200
- Net Result in Debt Load: $32,864,260,800 decrease
- Relative to Q1 2010: 25% less than the decrease in the same quarter in 2010
- Relative to Q1 2009: 30% less than the decrease in the same quarter in 2009
- CONCLUSION: As was the case in the previous 2 years, consumers actually paid down their credit card debt in a big way during the first quarter of this year. Consumers paid down around $32.8 Billion of credit card debt in Q1 of 2011. This pay down, however, is 25 percent less than what consumers paid down a year ago and 30 percent less than what they paid down on the same quarter two years ago.
Please find previous studies here*:
* Some of the numbers may differ from study to study as a result of the Federal Reserve updating certain numbers for several months after first publishing them.
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