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Credit Card Debt Hits $1.26 T, Delinquencies Surge to 12.8%

8/12/2026

33 6 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

Credit card debt rose $21 billion in Q2 2026 to $1.26 trillion, just shy of the $1.28 trillion Q4 2025 record.
Delinquent credit-card balances over 90 days rose to 12.8 % in early 2026, up from 7.6 % in mid-2022.
New York Fed researchers said the higher delinquency rate reflects aging balances rather than new late-stage defaults.
Household debt totalled $18.8 trillion, with auto loan debt hitting a record $1.71 trillion.

History

Historical Context

The 2008 financial crisis sparked a wave of credit-card defaults that helped push household debt to 127 % of disposable income in 2007, far above 77 % in 1990. Economists such as Carmen Reinhart note that the ensuing debt-paydown from 2009-2012 prolonged the Great Recession’s recovery, a pattern echoed by today’s rise in delinquencies.

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Story summary

Credit card debt rose $21 billion in Q2 2026 to $1.26 trillion, just shy of the $1.28 trillion Q4 2025 record.
Delinquent credit-card balances over 90 days rose to 12.8 % in early 2026, up from 7.6 % in mid-2022.
New York Fed researchers said the higher delinquency rate reflects aging balances rather than new late-stage defaults.
Household debt totalled $18.8 trillion, with auto loan debt hitting a record $1.71 trillion.

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