Consumer Credit Grows in November; Credit Cards Fall Again

U.S. consumers added $1.3 billion to outstanding loan balances in November, according to data released late Friday by the Federal Reserve. But almost all of the gain was attributed to adjustments in federal lending for education and auto sales, as credit card balances fell for the 27th consecutive month.

The additional loans were enough to send total consumer credit higher by 0.7 percent.  Non-revolving credit – principally auto, student, and personal loans – accounted for all of the growth, adding $5.5 billion to balances, or a 4.2 percent annual rate.

Credit card balances, referred to as revolving debt in the Fed report, fell again in November. Banks reported that their total credit card debt outstanding fell at an annual rate of 6.3 percent, or by $4.2 billion, to $796.5 billion. While it marked the 27th month of credit card declines, November was the first month that total outstanding credit card debt fell below $800 billion since 2004.

Total consumer credit outstanding in the U.S. was $2.403 trillion at the end of November, according to the Fed. The Fed’s monthly consumer credit report, also called G.19, does not include debt backed by real estate.