CHICAGO — Even as consumers began to significantly slow their spending, the amount of money Americans owe on their bankcards continued to rise, according to one of the leading credit bureaus.
TransUnion released the results of its most recent tracking data, reporting that as of the third quarter of 2008 the total credit card debt per borrower rose by 1.57% over the same period last year to $5,710. Alaska card holders had the highest per cardholder debt at $7,827 with Nevada ($$6,636) and Tennessee ($6,568) following. Iowa credit card holders had the lowest average balances at ($4,403), followed by North Dakota ($4,403) and West Virginia ($4,517).
Maine cardholders led the way in decreasing their card balances, moving them down by 1.4% over the third quarter, with North Dakota (1.12%) and Alaska following suit 0.57%).
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Nationally, the ratio of bankcard borrowers delinquent on one or more of their bankcards rose 4.8 percent over the previous quarter, TransUnion said. However, on a year-over-year basis the national delinquency incidence rate has risen 5.8% from 1.03% in the third quarter of 2007, the organization said.
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