Credit Card Woes in Florida
A recent TransUnion report delivers bad news for Floridians. For one thing, Florida’s average credit card debt is above the national average. But, that’s not the worst of it. In addition to carrying the high average balance of $6,489 (compared to the national average of $5,729), they also have the second-highest rate of credit card delinquencies in the nation. They’ve climbed 1.71% in delinquency while the rest of the nation has fallen by 11%. The TransUnion report compared the last quarter against that same quarter the year before. The nationwide average saw a reduction, as credit card consumers backed off on holiday spending.
With Florida the number two, the worst-off state was Nevada. With Florida rising by 1.71% 90-day credit card delinquencies, Nevada came in first at 2.04%. Arizona came in third at 1.54%. As far as on-going credit card debt: Florida’s average rose from $6,224 to $6,489. Alaska came out at $7,466; Nevada at $6,638 and; Tennessee at $6,560. The best-off states were: Iowa at $4,267; North Dakota at $4,414 and; West Virginia at $4,555. The states losing the most ground were: Arkansas - 4.2% worse; Mississippi - 3% worse and; South Carolina - 2.9% worse. The states gaining the most ground were: Alaska dropping 4.6%; District of Columbia dropping 2.7% and; Washington dropping 1.6%.
All in all, it’s pretty good news. Naysayers have controlled Wall Street for too long, now. I’ve lost my shirt on banking stocks. The doomsday reports of plummeting employment, consumer confidence and per capita disposable income have all taken their toll, for sure. But, the overall effect of them did not topple the credit card industry as predicted. Things were not near as bad as they said. The American consumers have come through with resilience.
If Florida and a few other states can only get it together, we may yet see our banking stocks rise 1,000% on Wall Street. At least two things look good, here:
1) The aggressive measures that the financial institutions have taken in mitigating risk in their credit card portfolios seems to be working.
2) The American credit card consumer has become more conscientious and conservative. They are stepping up to recover also without stiffing the lenders. Over all, most of our nation has buckled down and is now paying on its credit cards on time and is owning its responsibilities.
Confidence is returning. Wall Street, take note. TransUnion projects that: “If the administration’s bailout package gains sufficient traction, the credit card delinquency rate could peak in early 2010 and begin to move downward as the unemployment rate begins to fall and the drop in disposable income levels off.” C’mon, Florida “Yes, we can.”
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