




The Federal Reserve’s latest G.19 Consumer Credit Report shows rising trends in consumer credit, excluding loans secured by real estate, through October 2019.
In October, consumer credit increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.5 percent from the previous month, with revolving debt1 increasing by 8.8 percent and nonrevolving debt2 increasing by 4.3 percent. Consumer credit totaled $4.2 trillion on a seasonally adjusted basis, with $1.1 trillion in revolving debt and $3.1 trillion in nonrevolving debt. This is an increase of $18.9 billion from the previous month.
The above figure shows a surge in revolving debt in October. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, revolving debt totaled $1.1 trillion, with $945 billion of balances held at depository institutions, $23 billion at finance companies, $65 billion at credit unions, and $20 billion at non-financial businesses. The largest increase from the previous month occurred in the revolving balances held at depository institutions, by about $8 billion. On the other hand, non-revolving debt increased only moderately. This is more reflective of the changes in non-revolving debt being generally less on a percentage basis than revolving debt. In depository institutions, as of October, revolving balances accounted for 55% of all holdings, with the rest of the holdings being non-revolving balances.
Notes:
- Revolving credit plans are largely composed of credit card debt but also include home equity lines of credit (HELOCs). These may be unsecured or secured by collateral and allow a consumer to borrow up to a prearranged limit and repay the debt in one or more installments. The G.19 Consumer Credit report excludes HELOCS and home equity loans, as they are secured by real estate.
- Nonrevolving credit is closed-end credit extended to consumers that is repaid on a prearranged repayment schedule and may be secured or unsecured.
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