Credit card debt rises to $1.26 trillion, nearing all-time record
Americans’ credit card debt climbed to $1.26 trillion in the second quarter of 2026, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, released Tuesday. The $21 billion quarterly increase left total card debt at $1.26 trillion, just shy of the $1.28 trillion peak reached in the fourth quarter of last year, according to ABC News.
Total U.S. household debt edged down $13 billion in the second quarter to $18.8 trillion. Mortgage balances led the decline, falling $74 billion to $13.1 trillion. Auto loan balances rose $28 billion to $1.71 trillion, a new record high. Home equity lines of credit increased $13 billion to $459 billion, while student loan balances declined $7 billion to $1.65 trillion.
Between mid-2022 and early 2026, the portion of card balances that had gone at least 90 days without payment climbed from 7.6% to 12.8%, according to CNBC. New York Fed researchers cautioned on a press call Tuesday that the figure reflects a backlog of old charged-off debts lingering on credit reports rather than a broad deterioration in consumers’ current repayment behavior.
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