According to recent data from TransUnion lenders reported that almost 15 million credit cards were in financial hardship programs; this accounts for about 3% of credit card accounts that TransUnion tracks; on the auto side, about three million auto loans were in hardship programs, or about 3.5% of auto loans tracked; these numbers were .03% and 0.5% respectively for credit card and auto loans last year; even before the coronavirus hit Americans were taking on more credit card and auto loan debt which is believed to be a result of stagnant wages; these data points are particularly important since loans that have paused payments are not included in delinquency or charge-off numbers that lenders report; consumer lenders are hoping that the flexibility they are offering consumers will provide time for the economy to recover and allow consumers to catch up. The Wall Street Journal
