US consumer debt totals $15.6 trillion in 2021, record increase in 18 years
U.S. consumers debt increased to a record level last year, the largest ever jump in nearly 18 years, leading into a year in which the central bank is expected to increase the interest rates substantially
By Arghyadeep Dutta
Published - Feb 08, 2022, 07:31 PM ET
Last Updated - Feb 15, 2024, 07:19 AM EST
• Biggest chunk of debt-load increase came
from mortgages, which jumped $890 billion in 2021
• Americans ramped up credit-card spending
to pre-pandemic expenditure habits in Q4
U.S. consumers debt increased to a record level last year,
the largest ever jump in nearly 18 years, leading into a year in which the
central bank is expected to increase the interest rates substantially.
In 2021, the total consumer debt came to $15.6 trillion, a
gain of over $1 trillion from the year earlier, the Federal Reserve Bank of New
York said in its quarterly report on Household Debt and Credit, published
Tuesday.
