US Consumer Credit Outstanding Grew in April, Latest G.19 Consumer Credit Report Shows

On Wednesday (6-7-23), the Federal Reserve released its latest G.19 Consumer Credit report. According to the report, with additional analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), consumer credit outstanding grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.7% in April. Revolving and nonrevolving credit grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 13.1% and 3.2%, respectively. Total consumer credit outstanding stands at $4.8 trillion—not seasonally adjusted—with $1.2 trillion in revolving credit and $3.6 trillion in non-revolving debt.

The total balance of consumer credit outstanding grew 6.9% over the 12 months ending in April. Revolving debt grew 13.8% over the period, nearly three times the growth in nonrevolving debt of 4.8%. The 12-month growth rate of revolving debt exceeded 10.0% in March 2022 and has not fallen below that market since. The last time growth exceeded 10.0% was from November 2020 through June 2001, a period during which unemployment began to rise and the 2001 recession began.

According to the G.19 and NAHB analysis, revolving and nonrevolving debt accounted for 24.7% and 75.3% of total consumer debt, respectively. (Revolving consumer debt as a share of the total fell to 21.8% in April 2021—the smallest share since 1986.) At 24.7%, the share is roughly equal to the 10-year average of 25.1%. Between April 2022 and April 2023, revolving consumer credit outstanding as a share of the total increased 1.5 percentage points.