The Indicator from Planet Money · Friday, August 14, 2026
A report from the New York Fed indicates a significant rise in seriously delinquent credit card debt, reaching 12.8%. This level of delinquency, defined as debt at least 90 days past due, has not been seen since the Great Recession. While the rate of new delinquencies has remained stable, a backlog of unpaid pandemic-era debts is contributing to the overall increase.
“My indicator is 12.8%. That is the percentage of credit card debt considered seriously delinquent according to a new report out this week by the New York Fed.”
“So seriously delinquent means that this debt is at least 90 days past due. And we haven't actually seen this amount of seriously delinquent debt since around the time of the Great Recession.”
“But a lot of people coming out of the pandemic, they have these debts that they fell behind on and they just haven't paid them off.”
“So maybe things aren't getting worse, but they're just staying bad?”