US Consumer Borrowing Soared by $25.8 Billion in August

Banking, finance, and taxes

Published: October 7, 2016 3:23 pm

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 2:40 am

The Federal Reserve on Friday released its preliminary report on consumer credit for the month of August 2016. On a seasonally adjusted basis, consumer credit rose 8.5% in the month, up from 5.9% growth posted in July.

In dollar terms, consumer credit rose by $25.8 billion month over month. Analysts had been expecting an increase of $16.6 billion.

Total consumer debt rose to $3.687 trillion in August of which $974.6 billion is revolving (mostly credit card) debt and $2.712 trillion is non-revolving debt. Revolving debt rose by $5.6 billion (7%) and non-revolving debt rose by $20.2 billion (9%). Revolving credit comprises primarily credit card balances and non-revolving credit includes motor vehicle loans, student loans, among others, and may be secured or unsecured. Mortgage debt is not included in the report.

The largest holders of consumer debt are depositary institutions which hold about $1.473 trillion in debt, including certain types of student loans. The federal government holds about $1.024 trillion in total debt, all of which is non-revolving and includes certain kinds of student loans. Finance companies and credit unions are also large holders of non-revolving debt, with August totals of about $670.9 billion and $369.6 billion, respectively.

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