ADS - Credit card delinquency net charge-offs creep up in February as expected

Consumers were are taking longer to pay off credit card bills, and issuing banks are writing down more uncollected payments in February, but not by a lot, according to credit card metrics reported by card-issuing banks. Both are still well below prepandemic levels and the trend is gradual. Credit card loans declined from January, in line with typical seasonality, analysts said. "February 2022 credit trends for cards reflected much of what we have seen over the past few months, a modest increase in delinquencies and continued orderly credit normalization," wrote Jefferies analyst John Hecht. He also noted that payment rates slipped to 34.3% after a cycle high of 38.2% in December 2021, "consistent with the normalization trend." Hecht rates Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF), Discover Financial (NYSE:DFS), and Capital One (NYSE:COF) as Buy. Card issuers with a Hold rating are: Alliance Data Systems (NYSE:ADS), American Express (NYSE:AXP), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup

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Credit card delinquency, net charge-offs creep up in February as expected