Total Consumer Credit Rose in December; Here’s How CU Share Compares to Others

Curt Long will be at our Clearwater Beach Conference

ARLINGTON, Va.—Total consumer credit rose 2.9% at a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate in December and is up 7.8% compared to a year ago, according to new federal data.

Curt Long

Revolving credit – primarily credit cards – rose 7.3% and is up 14.8% compared to December 2021. Non-revolving credit – primarily auto loans and education loans – rose 1.5% during the month and is up 5.6% from a year ago.

“Consumer credit grew by $11.6 billion in December, a figure less than half of what analysts expected. Revolving debt growth decelerated during the month, consistent with a 1.8% dip in retail sales during the month,” said NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long, citing the Federal Reserve Data.

Total consumer credit for credit unions rose 1% in December, compared to a 1.1% gain for banks and 0.4% increase for financial companies. From a year prior, total consumer credit at credit unions rose 18.6%, while banks experienced a 10.9% gain and financial companies grew 0.6%.

Credit Union Share

Over the past 12 months, credit unions’ share of the market rose 1.2 percentage points to 13.2%. Banks’ share rose 1.2 percentage points to 42.4%, and financial companies' share fell 0.8 percentage points to 12.2%.

“The decline in the non-revolving segment tracks with modest vehicle sales in December, but sales spiked in January,” concluded Long. “Consumer credit is likely to be supply-constrained in 2023 as lenders adjust to volatile and uncertain economic conditions.”