Americans' household debt levels, including credit card debt, rose to new all-time highs in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The report showed that overall household debt increased by $93 billion to $18.04 trillion at the end of 2024, an all-time high. Credit card balances rose by $45 billion from the prior quarter to reach $1.21 trillion at the end of December, which is also a record high. Delinquency rates ticked higher by 0.1 percentage points from the prior quarter to 3.6% of outstanding debt in some stage of delinquency, with delinquency transition rates steady for nearly all types of debt except for credit cards – which had a small uptick in transitions from current to delinquent. Serious delinquency, defined as 90 or more days past due, moved higher for auto loans, credit cards and HELOC balances but was stable for mortgages. The New York Fed noted that while the report shows Americans are generally faring well in terms of managing their household debt, there are signs that rising prices and elevated interest rates are causing issues for some auto loan borrowers. WHAT WOULD BE THE IMPACT OF A CREDIT CARD INTEREST RATE CAP?

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