Credit card delinquency rate to fall

Chicago-based TransUnion has released its annual credit forecasts, which indicate national mortgage loan delinquencies (the ratio of borrowers 60 or more days past due) will drop nearly 3 percent by the end of 2010 to 6.39 percent from an expected 6.56 percent at the conclusion of 2009.

The projected decrease in mortgage delinquencies would end a trend that included unprecedented year-over-year increases of 54 percent between 2006 and 2007, 53 percent between 2007 and 2008 and 43 percent between 2008 and 2009.

TransUnion also released national year-end 2010 credit card delinquency rate forecasts (the ratio of bankcard borrowers 90 days or more delinquent on one or more of their credit cards) that indicate the nation will experience a third straight year-over-year decrease from 1.07 percent at the end of 2009 to 1.04 percent at the conclusion of 2010. The projected 2.80 percent year-over-year decrease is significantly less than the 11 percent and 11.6 percent drops seen between 2007 and 2008 and 2008 and 2009, respectively. However, the expected year-end 2010 delinquency rate marks a 23.6 percent decrease from the same period in 2007 (1.36 percent).

Though the projected rate of decrease in mortgage delinquencies will be relatively slow for a majority of the nation, 22 states are expected to experience double-digit decreases in delinquency as housing values in those states are forecasted to improve.

On the credit card front, 11 states will see 4 percent or greater decreases in credit card delinquencies, led by Washington D.C. (-8.24 percent), Mississippi (-6.15 percent) and Rhode Island (-4.94 percent).

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