Time Magazine: With Defaults Rising, Is a Credit-Card Crisis Looming? - by Kristina Dell
With Defaults Rising, Is a Credit-Card Crisis Looming? - by Kristina Dell
We're not nearly out from under the subprime mortgage meltdown and already analysts are speculating about the next industry crisis, related to the little plastic cards in your wallet. With American Express becoming a bank-holding company this week in order to get low-cost funds and share in the $700 billion bailout pool, it's clear that even traditionally resilient industries like credit cards are feeling pressured. "Credit cards are in line to fall," says Adam Levitin, associate law professor at Georgetown University. "The question is whether they will beat out the auto industry — they're racing for the honors." Meanwhile, home equity, the biggest source of wealth for most families, has been drained by the mortgage crisis. "There isn't a cushion for anyone who has a bump in the road," says Levitin. "Credit cards are often the first place where we start to see all the other problems show up, from medical bills to divorce to a death in the family." And then, of course, there's unemployment. Thus, it's not surprising that credit defaults are up dramatically, at the highest rate in six years.
