CHICAGO—Following four years of increases in credit card balances and delinquencies, a new report lets issuers know they should expect a slowdown in balance growth by the close of 2025.
However, the report also predicts credit card delinquency growth will back off, as well.
TransUnion’s 2025 Consumer Credit Forecast also examined the state of delinquency in 2025 for auto loans, unsecured personal loans and mortgages.
In Q3 2024, there were 554.5 million active credit cards held by U.S. consumers. In the last four years alone, the number of credit cards increased by more than 100 million—451.6 million in Q3 2020.
“We’ve observed widespread growth in credit cards in recent years for myriad reasons. Notably, credit card issuers felt comfortable taking on more risk, while consumer appetite for credit rose in tandem with higher costs for everyday goods and services,” said Paul Siegfried, senior vice president and credit card business leader at TransUnion. “As inflation pressures dissipate and interest rates continue their slow decline, we believe there will also be a slowing in both credit card balance growth and serious delinquency rates.”
TransUnion projects credit card balances to increase to $1.09 trillion by the end of 2024, representing a year-over-year increase of 3.9%. A similar YoY rise of 4.4% to $1.1 trillion is expected at the close of 2025. These expected increases are well below the YoY growth seen in 2022 and 2023 of 18.5% and 12.6%, respectively.
Non-Prime Growth
Balances among non-prime credit card borrowers, those borrowers with VantageScore 4.0 scores of 660 or below, are forecast to grow at a slower rate than in recent years. Among non-prime borrowers, balances are expected to grow by 4% YoY in 2024 and 8% in 2025 after growing by 39% and 21% in 2022 and 2023.
Serious credit card delinquency rates of 90 or more days past due are expected to increase for the fifth consecutive year in 2025 to 2.76%. The expected 12 basis point YoY rise will follow an anticipated YoY rise of 5 bps in 2024 but is much lower than what was observed in 2022 (+78 bps) and 2023 (+33 bps), TransUnion said.
“The growth in total credit card balances is expected to be driven by gradual increases in prices and in consumer spending, along with slower increases in personal savings,” said Michele Raneri, vice president and head of U.S. research and consulting at TransUnion. “We are forecasting credit card balance increases more in line with the single-digit growth observed in pre-pandemic years. This slowing growth and the overall stabilization of the economy offers optimism that we may be nearing a tipping point when it comes to the increases in serious delinquency rates over the past several years.”
This projected slower balance growth comes as more consumers appear confident about the state of their household budgets. According to TransUnion’s recently released Q4 2024 Consumer Pulse study, 63% of consumers indicated that their household finances were as planned or better than expected in Q4 2024. This is up from 60% one year prior.
Other Categories
Among other lending categories, delinquencies are, for the most part, leveling off as the macroeconomic picture improves and consumers gradually find themselves in more favorable financial positions, TransUnion said.
- Auto loan delinquencies are expected to stabilize in Q4 2024 and see a decline in Q4 2025 following two consecutive years of growth. Serious delinquency rates of 60 or more days past due (60+ DPD) are forecasted to remain flat YoY in Q4 2024 before a slight decline of 7 bps in Q4 2025, TransUnion said.
- After seeing a decline of 24 bps in Q4 2023, serious unsecured personal loan delinquency rates (60+ DPD) are expected to remain relatively flat in Q4 2024 (-3 bps) and see a small uptick in Q4 2025 (+13 bps). A key element of this increase is likely lenders expanding their buy boxes to riskier borrowers as the economy continues to stabilize, TransUnion said.
- Despite three consecutive YoY increases (among them a forecasted increase of 15 bps in Q4 2024), 60+ DPD mortgage delinquency rates remain extremely low relative to historical norms and are expected to remain flat in Q4 2025 (-1 bps), TransUnion said.
“One common thread that we see across lending categories is moderation in serious delinquency, likely driven by a stabilizing economy,” said Jason Laky, executive vice president and head of financial services at TransUnion. “Consumers are returning to a financial equilibrium, increasingly finding the room needed in their monthly budgets to make on-time payments and avoid falling behind. Economic conditions are forecast to continue to gradually improve in 2025. As lenders look for loan growth next year, they should use all of the tools at their disposal to make the best possible lending decisions.”