V - Credit card metrics loan growth tread path to 'normalization' in October

Credit card banks' net charge-off and delinquency rates creep up in October, but still remain near low levels as most consumers didn't run up credit card debt during the pandemic. "Normalization continues (albeit slowly)," Jefferies analyst John Hecht said in a note to clients. Summing it up: "DQs [delinquencies] have started the migration but in a measured pace amongst high quality segments; ending loan balances have risen sequentially despite payment rates remaining elevated," Hecht said. While rising credit card balances typically indicate consumers' confidence, consumer sentiment is another story. They're clearly worried about inflation, even as the economy continues to grow, with the University of Michigan November Consumer Sentiment gauge falling to its lowest level in a decade. Wolfe Research's Bill Carcache says loan balances at Alliance Data (NYSE:ADS), Capital One (NYSE:COF), Discover (NYSE:DFS), and Synchrony — the credit card issuers that he covers — have risen for the sixth

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Credit card metrics, loan growth tread path to 'normalization' in October