Credit Cards
- 13.81% (all fixed)
- 14.46% (all variable)
The average annual percentage rate, or APR, for variable-rate credit cards inched up one basis point to 14.46 percent from 14.45 percent, according to Bankrate's latest survey of interest rates. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point. The fixed APR remained at 13.81 percent, where it has stayed since the first week of March.
Experian found that new bank cards, in dollar terms, rose by 30 percent year over year in the last quarter of 2011. Total volumes reached $62 billion in the fourth quarter, the highest level since the fourth quarter of 2008. The credit reporting agency also found that banks issued more cards to consumers of all credit-risk stripes, even those with the lowest credit scores. Still, that group only makes up 1.2 percent of overall originations.