WASHINGTON—Are consumers walking into a financial hailstorm in 2016?
Examining U.S. consumer credit card debt, CardHub believes just such a risk exists.
“The holidays are commonly known to give Americans a spending hangover, after financing gifts and festivities with costly plastic,” stated CardHub, noting that according to its estimates Americans will have exceeded $900 billion in credit card debt as of year-end 2015, the highest amount recorded since the economic downturn.
“Just as worrying as our debt levels, however, is consumers' lack of touch with reality — or denial — about what they really owe,” the company stated. “According to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the total amount of credit-card debt that U.S. consumers claim to have is 37% lower than the figure lenders have reported.”
More info on the analysis can be found here.