Credit Card Delinquencies Plunged in Third Quarter

Credit card delinquencies plunged in third quarter as consumers pay down debts and shun card debt.

The ratio of bankcard borrowers 90 days of more delinquent on one or more their credit cards fell 24.6% year-on-year in the third quarter, according to TransUnion.

More than 8 million consumers stopped actively using bank-issued general-purpose credit cards.

"The vast majority of the consumers who do not possess or have stopped using credit cards continue to have and use other forms of revolving and installment credit, and of course still need to pay for necessities," said Ezra Becker, vice president of research and consulting in TransUnion's financial services business unit.

The two states with the largest quarter-on-quarter drop in credit card delinquency were Alaska (-19.2%) and Nebraska (-17.6%).

Only Washington, DC and Mississippi had increases in credit card delinquency.