US household debt nears $14t in Q3

NEW YORK, Nov 14 (AFP): Borrowing by American households rose for the 21st straight quarter in the July-September period and is more than $1.0 trillion above the prior peak set in 2008 at the outset of the global financial crisis, the New York Federal Reserve Bank said on Wednesday.

Amid attractive interest rates, total household debt rose 0.7 per cent to $13.95 trillion in the July-September period compared to the prior three months, driven higher by mortgage borrowing as well as student and auto loans, according to the latest quarterly data.

The New York Fed also released data showing that borrowers from mostly black neighbourhoods were having greater difficulty in paying their student loan debts than borrowers from mostly white and Hispanic neighborhoods.

Rising wages and low unemployment also helped cut bankruptcies 13.4 per cent below year-ago levels to 186,000.