As Consumer Unsecured Continues Its Strong Performance, Older Americans' Credit Card Debt Grows & Texas Subprime Drivers Hit Speed Bumps

Quick Insights

• TransUnion Data: Households aged 18-29 experienced a decline in total debt during the second quarter, marking the first quarterly drop in any age cohort (excluding the COVID period) since 2009. This decline was primarily driven by reductions in mortgage and student debt, while the growth of credit card debt is slowing rapidly. In contrast, households aged 40-59 continue to see steady growth in credit card debt, consistent with the DFA analysis, which highlights significant debt accumulation among wealthier households.

• Consumer Unsecured: July marked the third occurrence in four months where all credit metrics significantly outperformed seasonally-adjusted trends. Beyond the monthly figures, the cumulative performance over the past four months has been the strongest in the sector's history, excluding the stimulus-driven surge and post-COVID recovery period of 2020/2021.

• Subprime Auto: July experienced a sharp reversal of recent trends, with significant credit deterioration across most metrics, in stark contrast to the continued recovery in Consumer Unsecured. States in

  Oil Regions—primarily reflecting loans in Texas—experienced the largest surge in Impairments, exceeding those of any other region by more than 70 bps.