A delayed reaction may be worse than no action at all, particularly if it causes you to overreact. Credit card companies may be finding out the truth of this as they seek to cut off credit and minimize their exposure to rising delinquencies. In doing so, however, they might be creating the very thing they're trying to forestall.
A faltering economy and rising unemployment are pushing delinquencies to higher levels. According to credit reporting bureau TransUnion, the rate of credit card holders delinquent 90 days or more rose nearly 6% in the third quarter from last year and was up almost 5% from just the second quarter. Meanwhile, the average debt per borrower rose 6% to $5,710 over last year.
As people turn to their credit cards to get them through this difficult period, the credit card companies are turning them off. In addition to lowering credit limits, credit card issuers like Capital One Financial
When a credit card company is unable to collect on the balances owed, it eventually writes them off. An indicator of that is called the "roll rate," which is the percentage of cardholders who go from being delinquent on their payments to not paying them at all. According to a report in today's Wall Street Journal, credit card companies are concerned about their roll rates escalating.
American Express
The three largest credit card issuers in the country are JPMorgan Chase
While MasterCard
As prices rise, jobs are lost, and the recession deepens, access to a credit card may be all individuals have to get by. Yet in trying to cushion their own losses by reducing available credit, raising minimums, or cancelling accounts altogether, card issuers may just end up hastening the rate at which cardholders fall behind. The snowball effect will mean higher delinquency rates, increasing roll rates, and more write-offs. There won't be anyone with whom to share credit for the problem.
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