NEW YORK -Consumers are starting to fall behind on their credit card and loan payments as the economy softens, according to executives at the biggest U.S. banks, although they said delinquency levels were still modest.
While delinquencies and net charge-offs - debt owed to a bank that is unlikely to be recovered - have slowly risen as expected, consumers and businesses generally remain strong, the bank's CEO Charlie Scharf said.Citigroup also made larger provisions for credit losses even as it brought in more revenue from clients' interest payments on credit cards.
Delinquency rates will probably return to "normal" levels of 3% to 3.5% for branded cards and 5% to 5.5% for retail services by early 2024, Mason said. Current delinquency rates are 2.8% for branded cards and 4% for retail services, according to Citi's presentation on its earnings.