.jpg){kind=avatar}
Total card loans held by US banks stood at $755b in the last week of October, according to the Federal Reserve — $100b lower than when the pandemic took hold — and balances have drifted lower in three of the past four weeks. Government stimulus cheques, supplemental insurance benefits and the availability to take payment holidays on mortgages had all helped consumers to pay down their balances.
“As goes Covid, so goes credit card spending” said Mike Mayo, bank analyst at Wells Fargo. “For bank profitability, that means pain — but it should be transient pain, lasting until the war on Covid is over.”
https://www.ft.com/content/fe591579-2202-45f1-8c83-a7e7dd1200c4
