Consumer defaults fell in December, with auto loans showing the largest decline, according to data released Tuesday by Standard & Poor's and Experian.
The S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices showed that, for the month of December, first and second mortgage defaults fell to 2.93% and 1.74%, respectively, from November. Auto loans dropped substantially, from 1.76%, to 1.68% for the month, and bank card default rates were down slightly to 6.73%. The composite rate for defaults fell by 3.94% from November, to a rate of 3.01%.
Compared with December of 2009, defaults for second mortgages fell heavily, dropping by 50.76%. First mortgages saw the next largest drop, down by 38.57%. Auto loans came in 36.85% lower than in December of 2009, and bank cards saw the least reduction in default, coming in 17.68% lower than they did for December a year ago.
Default rates showed variation across the country. Los Angeles and Chicago, two of the five major metropolitan statistical areas that are reported on each month, showed the greatest change, as they saw their default rates fall by about 6%, to 3.07% and 3.13%, respectively. Miami and New York were next, with lesser decline rates of 10.15% and 3.01%, respectively. Dallas' default rate actually went up, to 2.21%.
