Consumer Credit Inquiries Declining – What Does It Mean?

MoneyTips


Have We Finally Hit the Debt Wall?

According to the old saying, the two certainties in life are death and taxes. Maybe we should add debt to the list.

The New York Federal Reserve's latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit shows that household debt rose by $869 billion in Q4 2018 to hit $13.54 trillion. That's the 18th consecutive quarterly increase – but the trend may be nearing an end. Over the same time period, new credit extensions for auto loans and mortgages slowed and the number of new credit inquiries over the previous six months fell to the lowest level – fewer than 145 million – since the New York Fed's database began in 2003.

Have Americans concluded that they have too much debt – and, if so, is that a good or bad omen?

Good News, Bad News

Credit inquiries are credit report requests from lenders, also known as "...



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