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Here's a little good news to offset the U.S. debt downgrade doldrums: More credit card holders are paying their bills on time.
A study released Friday by Experian shows that 60-day delinquencies on credit cards are down to pre-recession levels. (It's hard to remember when that was.)
Anyhow, nicely done, fellow consumers. Sadly, the report also mentioned that a quarter more homeowners are paying their mortgages 60 days late.
Still, the positive credit card news echoes an earlier report this week from Fitch that showed similar results. Fitch said Tuesday credit card defaults fell in July by the second-largest amount in five years and are now in line with historical norms.
Its 60-day delinquency index slipped for the 18th straight month after peaking at the beginning of last year. Delinquency levels are nearly half of what they were then.
"U.S. consumers are charging less and swiftly paying off existing balances in increasing numbers," said Fitch's managing director Michael Dean. "Default rates are also pulling back more quickly than anticipated and appear poised for further improvements in coming months."
That sounds better than a lot of other news we've received lately regarding the economy.
How are you handling your credit card bills?
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