Consumer loan late payments at 28-year high

Consumer loan late payments at 28-year high

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Soaring unemployment has caused more Americans to fall behind on loan payments than at any time since 1980, and delinquencies are likely to head higher, the American Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

"It is not going to be a pretty picture in 2009," James Chessen, the trade group's chief economist for 18 years, said in an interview. "The dramatic loss of jobs will have a huge impact on the ability of people to meet their debt obligations. This is one of the toughest environments we have ever seen."

The quarterly ABA study of delinquent payments found the percentage of loans at least 30 days late rose to a seasonally adjusted 2.90 percent in the July-to-September period from 2.68 percent in the second quarter

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2.9% are late on loan payments covering everything from houses to cars to credit cards. This is a prime example of manipulation in effect and yet even with that manipulation happening, the numbers are approaching records. Many banks have already written off alot of these loans, and as such they are no longer included in this percentile. As is the case with the jobless data, I'm sure the "real" number of delinquencies is at least twice the provided figure if everyone who's really delinquent was counted.

I also bet this number will soar by this time next year as many people with student loans will have exhausted their deferment & forebearance options.

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