Americans are borrowing again!

NEW YORK—Americans are borrowing again, in some cases at levels not seen in more than a decade.

Consumer demand for auto loans and leases, general-purpose credit cards and personal loans was up 39% in April compared with the same period last year, according to Equifax. It was also up 11% compared with April 2019.

As CUToday.info reported here, Fed data confirm the increase in consumer credit, as well as credit unions’ growing share of the market.

Equifax said lenders bumped up credit card originations, issuing more general-purpose credit cards than any other March on record. Equifax’s data goes back to 2010.

The company further reported lenders extended a record number of auto loans and leases in March, the latest month for which data are available. They also bumped up credit-card originations, issuing more general-purpose credit cards than any other March on record. Equifax’s data goes back to 2010.

“It is quite the reversal from 2020, when many people shunned credit cards, personal loans and other types of debt,” the Wall Street Journal observed.