Investment Properties

According to Equifaxs latest National Credit Trends Report, U.S. credit card users have made steady improvement in the last 18 months. All told, 2011 say credit card write-offs by banks tumble 39 percent year-over-year.

Declining write-offs, growing card originations and the stabilizing of card balances are a precursor to balance increases, which can help to return the banks to profitability in this lending sector, Michael Koukounas, Senior Vice President of Special Client Services for Equifax, said in a statement.

Bank credit card write-offs ended 2011 at 5.53 percent of accounts a 39 percent decrease from 2010 write-offs. Retail credit card write-offs also fell (26 percent) and now stand at 8.4 percent.

The industry is experiencing sustained improvement in consumers payment behavior and overall reduction of debt, a trend that seems to indicate more responsible lending and borrowing habits among card issuers and consumers alike, Koukounas said.

According to Equifax, total outstanding consumer debt (credit cards, mortgage loans, home equity loans, auto loans, student loans, and consumer finance) stood at $11.1 trillion in December 2011, a marked decrease from the peak of $12.4 trillion seen in October 2008.

Total consumer credit card debt also peaked in October 2008 ($752 billion) but now sits nearly 20 percent lower at $604 billion (December 2011).