Consumer credit default rates in the Chicago area fell for the fifth consecutive month in May, but remain higher than the national average.
In May, 1.85 percent of consumer loans were in default in the Chicago area, down from 2.21 percent in April and 2.37 percent in May 2011, according to a S&P/Experian index on consumer credit defaults released Tuesday.
Nationally, the index showed a decline in all loan types for the fifth consecutive month, to 1.62 percent of loans in May, from 1.86 percent in April. Four loan types — first and second mortgages, auto loans and bank cards — posted the lowest default rates since the end of the recession and the auto loan default rate of 1.03 percent hit its lowest point since S&P/Experian began tracking it eight years ago.
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In May 2011, 2.23 percent of all consumer credit was in default.
“Consumer default rates continue to fall, and we are reaching new lows across all the loan types,” said David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of S&P’s index committee. “In the last recession, default rates peaked in the spring of 2009. Since then the decline has been bumpy but consistent. Only bank cards remain above their pre-recession lows.”
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