Little Change in Major Banks' Credit Card Chargeoff and Delinquency Rates

Five of the largest credit card issuers Tuesday in the U.S. reported net charge-off and delinquency rates for October that were largely flat compared to the previous month.

The filings, required by the SEC for asset-backed securities investment purposes, showed a continuing trend of leveling off as credit card charge-off and delinquency rates recover from historic highs after the credit crisis of late 2008.

In October, Discover showed the largest increase in net charge-offs as the card issuer’s rate moved from 3.17 percent in September to 3.26 percent. But that gain was offset by Citi reporting a significant drop in its chargeoff rate in October. The average net credit card charge-off rate among the five banks moved down to 4.51 percent from 4.53 percent in September.

Credit card delinquencies were flat, with the average among the banks registering an identical 3.14 percent as the previous month. Capital One saw the largest increase month-over-month while Citi was the largest decliner.