Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas -Consumer Credit Trends for Texas.
ENPNewswire-October 9, 2019--Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas -Consumer Credit Trends for Texas
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Release date- 08102019 - The extents to which individuals are accessing credit and making timely payments on debt are important measures of financial inclusion and economic health in the United States, as well as in states and local communities.
This paper uses a nationally representative loan-level dataset from Equifax to study consumer use and timely payment of four major loan types in Texas: mortgage, credit card, auto and student. It also looks at trends in balances, delinquent payments and credit scores over the past 15 years. Analysis finds that although there has been a decline in overall serious delinquencies since the Great Recession, recent years have seen increases in significantly late payments for car and student loans in the state. The portion of Texas' student debt that is currently at least 90 days past due is about 13.3 percent, while the total balance carried by Texas borrowers has almost tripled since 2006, adjusting for inflation. Car loans experienced increases in serious delinquency rates over the past four years, particularly in El Paso County, where the rate has nearly doubled since 2014. This report also notes that much of the improvement in the mortgage and credit card markets may come from restricted loan access for those with less-than-prime credit. Although the number of people in the Texas mortgage market overall increased, the numbers of those with near-prime or subprime credit decreased by more than 445,000 people. Further research is needed to understand how well the credit markets are striking a balance between keeping serious delinquencies low and ensuring that all consumers have an equal opportunity for inclusion in the credit economy.
Introduction
Credit access and loan delinquencies are important indicators of financial health in the United States-both for an individual's economic prosperity and for the nation as a whole. On an individual level, loans increase access to large-scale purchases such as cars, houses and higher education. They also help people meet everyday expenses or serve as a necessary buffer for unexpected costs or emergencies. An inability to access mainstream, affordable credit can lock people out of asset-building opportunities or increase their likelihood of using high-cost alternative lenders.
In the aggregate, measuring credit availability can be used as a proxy for economic inclusion-the ability of...
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