At a time when the economy is growing less stable, American debt levels are continuing to reach record heights. According to a report released on Monday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, household debt levels reached a new record high of $17.05 trillion during the first quarter, rising $148 billion or 0.9% from the fourth quarter of last year.
The debt load has increased since the end of 2019 by $2.9 trillion. Almost all debt categories had rises during the first quarter, including mortgages, home equity lines of credit, auto loans, student loans, retail cards, and other consumer loans, which all saw greater (and new record) balances.
Notably, credit card balances remained unchanged in the first quarter, remaining at $986 million, which appears to be an anomaly.