Consumers Feel the Next Crisis: It’s Credit Cards

[mazinaige]

Consumers Feel the Next Crisis: It’s Credit Cards
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/business/29credit.html?scp=3&sq=Credit%20Crisis&st=cse

"Big lenders — like American Express, Bank of America, Citigroup and even the retailer Target — have begun tightening standards for applicants and are culling their portfolios of the riskiest customers. Capital One, another big issuer, for example, has aggressively shut down inactive accounts and reduced customer credit lines by 4.5 percent in the second quarter from the previous period, according to regulatory filings.

Lenders are shunning consumers already in debt and cutting credit limits for existing cardholders, especially those who live in areas ravaged by the housing crisis or who work in troubled industries. In some cases, lenders are even reining in credit lines after monitoring cardholders who shop at the same stores as other risky borrowers or who have mortgages from certain companies" (Eric Dash, Oct. 29, 2008, New York Times A1)

Federal Reserve Bank of New York Credit Conditions Map
Dynamic Maps of Bank Card and Mortgage Delinquencies in the United States
http://data.newyorkfed.org/creditconditionsmap/

Message Edited by mazinaige on 10-30-2008 01:39 PM