First-lien mortgage defaults in June were down 4 basis points
At 0.49%, second mortgage defaults were down 5 basis points from May, but defaults on seconds were slightly higher than they were a year ago, when they were 0.48%, according to the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Index in New York.
Overall, the composite score for mortgage, bank card and auto loan credit was down 4 basis points from a month ago and the same as a year ago at 0.82%.
Auto loan defaults were down 3 basis points from a month ago and 9 basis points from a year ago at 0.82%. Cards were down 4 basis points from the previous month but up 38 basis points from a year ago at 3.49%. This marked the first month-to-month drop for cards in nine months. The default rate for bank cards is particularly high in states where median household income is low, such as Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.
"Based on national averages, consumers are in good financial shape," said David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, in a press release. "Consumer credit defaults across mortgages, bank cards and auto loans are at levels similar to those before the financial crisis."
