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Household Debt and Credit
2015 in Review
Andrew Haughwout
The views presented here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect
those of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, or the Federal Reserve System.
1

Total Debt Balance and its Composition
Trillions of Dollars

Trillions of Dollars
15

Mortgage

HE Revolving

Auto Loan

Credit Card

Student Loan

Other

15

2015Q4 Total: $12.12 Trillion
2014Q4Total: $11.83 Trillion

12

(3%)

12

(10%)
(6%)
(9%)

9

9
(4%)

6

(68%)

6

3

3

0

0

Source: FRBNY Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax

2

03:Q1
03:Q3
04:Q1
04:Q3
05:Q1
05:Q3
06:Q1
06:Q3
07:Q1
07:Q3
08:Q1
08:Q3
09:Q1
09:Q3
10:Q1
10:Q3
11:Q1
11:Q3
12:Q1
12:Q3
13:Q1
13:Q3
14:Q1
14:Q3
15:Q1
15:Q3

Auto and Student Debt Growth has Outstripped
Mortgage and CC
2.0

1.8
Housing
Auto
CC
Student

1.6

1.4

1.2

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

3

Total Balance by Delinquency Status
Percent

Current

30 days late

60 days late

90 days late

120+ days late

Severely Derogatory

100

Percent

100

95

95

90

90

85

85

80

80

75
03:Q1 04:Q1 05:Q1 06:Q1 07:Q1 08:Q1 09:Q1 10:Q1 11:Q1 12:Q1 13:Q1 14:Q1 15:Q1

75

Source: FRBNY Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax

4

Transition into delinquency for current mortgages
Percent

Percent

4.0

4.0

3.5

3.5

3.0

3.0

2.5

2.5

2.0

2.0

1.5

1.5

1.0

2000-2005 avg:
1.45%

1.0
2015: 1.1%

0.5
0.0
00:Q1

0.5

02:Q1

04:Q1

06:Q1

08:Q1

10:Q1

12:Q1

14:Q1

0.0
16:Q1

Source: FRBNY Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax

5

Number of Consumers with New Foreclosures
and Bankruptcies
Thousands

Thousands

1,200

1,200
Foreclosures

Bankruptcies

900

900

600

600

300

300

0
03:Q1 04:Q1 05:Q1 06:Q1 07:Q1 08:Q1 09:Q1 10:Q1 11:Q1 12:Q1 13:Q1 14:Q1 15:Q1

0

Source: FRBNY Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax

6

Notable in 2015


Delinquencies continued to decline
 At year end 5.4% of debt was delinquent, lowest since
early 2007
 New foreclosures are at the lowest level we’ve seen


Data begin in 1999

 Bankruptcies

also trending down
 Student loan delinquency remains high


Total household debt rose $289 billion, or 2.4%
 Auto debt led the way, growing $109 billion (over 11%)


Outstanding auto debt crossed the $1 trillion mark in Q2

 Other

non-housing debt also grew strongly (4.7% - 6.5%)
 Housing debt growth has been sluggish since end of
deleveraging, and continued in 2015
7

WHITHER MORTGAGES?

8

Why has mortgage debt been so sluggish?


In spite of rising house prices, mortgage credit hasn’t
expanded much



House prices up more than 1/3 since early 2012



But mortgage debt hasn’t grown (up less than 1%)



A stark contrast to last expansion
 Both



prices and debt roughly doubled 2000-2006

Why is this time different?

9

House Prices and Mortgage Debt
Index (Jan 2000 = 100)
200

$ Billions
10000

180

160

9000
CoreLogic HPI
(Left Axis)

8000

140

7000

120

6000

Mortgage Debt
Outstanding
(Right Axis)

100

5000

80

4000

60
2000

3000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

Source: FRBNY Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax and CoreLogic

2012

2014

2016

Fact 1: Foreclosures’ influence is fading


Foreclosures eventually result in debt being “charged off”:
disappearing from borrower’s credit report, reducing balances
 Charge

offs were minor (< $50 billion per year) until 2007
 Then grew sharply to > $250 billion in 2009-13
 Now declining ($130 billion in 2015)


So foreclosures are still reducing balances, but influence fading



Can’t explain sluggish growth since 2012

11

-200

-400
2000Q4
2001Q2
2001Q4
2002Q2
2002Q4
2003Q2
2003Q4
2004Q2
2004Q4
2005Q2
2005Q4
2006Q2
2006Q4
2007Q2
2007Q4
2008Q2
2008Q4
2009Q2
2009Q4
2010Q2
2010Q4
2011Q2
2011Q4
2012Q2
2012Q4
2013Q2
2013Q4
2014Q2
2014Q4
2015Q2
2015Q4

Fact 1: Foreclosures’ influence is fading

$ Billion

1,000

800

600

400

200

0

First and second lien charge offs

Source: FRBNY Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax

12

Fact 2: Purchases not adding much


Housing transactions typically add to outstanding debt
 Some


new construction purchased with (net) new mortgages

Housing starts still well below boom levels

 Sellers’

(paid off) mortgages are smaller than buyers’ (opened)



Sellers have paid down debt
 Especially true when prices are rising, buyer must borrow more


In 2006 and 2007, transactions added $800B - $1T annually



$200B in 2009-11, now back to $350B



Much lower contribution to mortgage debt than during the boom

13

Fact 2: Purchases not adding much
$ Billion

1,000

800
600
400
200

-200
-400

2000Q4
2001Q2
2001Q4
2002Q2
2002Q4
2003Q2
2003Q4
2004Q2
2004Q4
2005Q2
2005Q4
2006Q2
2006Q4
2007Q2
2007Q4
2008Q2
2008Q4
2009Q2
2009Q4
2010Q2
2010Q4
2011Q2
2011Q4
2012Q2
2012Q4
2013Q2
2013Q4
2014Q2
2014Q4
2015Q2
2015Q4

0

First lien originations plus normal (non-charge-off) payoffs

First and second lien charge offs

Source: FRBNY Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax

14

Fact 3: Much less cash out than in boom


Borrowers can take cash out of properties without moving
 With

a cash-out refinance
 With a junior lien (eg, Home Equity Loans or Lines of Credit)


Very important during the boom
 $300-$400

billion in cash withdrawn per year in 2003-2007



Declined sharply during the bust



$10-$40 billion annual rate since 2012



Much lower contribution to mortgage debt than during the boom

15

2000Q1
2000Q3
2001Q1
2001Q3
2002Q1
2002Q3
2003Q1
2003Q3
2004Q1
2004Q3
2005Q1
2005Q3
2006Q1
2006Q3
2007Q1
2007Q3
2008Q1
2008Q3
2009Q1
2009Q3
2010Q1
2010Q3
2011Q1
2011Q3
2012Q1
2012Q3
2013Q1
2013Q3
2014Q1
2014Q3
2015Q1
2015Q3

Fact 3: Much less cash out than during the boom
$ Billion

300

200

100

0

-100

-200
refinance
second lien activity

-300

Source: FRBNY Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax

16

Fact 4: First-lien principal pay-down has grown a lot


2015Q4 outstanding mortgage debt is $8.25T



We’ve seen this level 3 times now (all Q4)
 2006: $170 billion in annual pay-down (2.1%)
 2011: $234 billion in annual pay-down (2.8%)
 2015: $288 billion in annual pay-down (3.5%)


$118 billion or 70% increase since 2006 on same base

17

Fact 4: First-lien principal pay-down has grown a lot
$ Billion

300

200

100

2000Q1
2000Q3
2001Q1
2001Q3
2002Q1
2002Q3
2003Q1
2003Q3
2004Q1
2004Q3
2005Q1
2005Q3
2006Q1
2006Q3
2007Q1
2007Q3
2008Q1
2008Q3
2009Q1
2009Q3
2010Q1
2010Q3
2011Q1
2011Q3
2012Q1
2012Q3
2013Q1
2013Q3
2014Q1
2014Q3
2015Q1
2015Q3

0

-100

-200

-300

refinance

first lien paydown

second lien activity

Amortization has increased by $90 billion per year since 2009
18

Why is pay-down share increasing?


Three factors determine pay-down share
 Interest


Loans with low rates have higher principal pay-down per dollar of payment

 Loan




age

Older loans have higher principal pay-down per dollar of payment

 Term


rate

of loan

Loans with shorter terms have higher principal pay-down per payment

All of these factors are currently pushing principal share up

19

Interest rate, term and age determine principal share
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%

30-yr @ 6.8%

40%

30-yr @ 3.5%

30%

15-yr @ 2.7%

20%
10%
1
13
25
37
49
61
73
85
97
109
121
133
145
157
169
181
193
205
217
229
241
253
265
277
289
301
313
325
337
349

0%

Payment number

Source: Authors’ calculations

20

Savings from refinancing a $200,000 mortgage
30-yr @ 6.8%, pmt 78

15-yr @ 2.7%, pmt 1

Assumes borrower income of $75,000 finances all payments

Principal
Interest

Payment $1,303
Principal $ 263 (4.2% of income)

Principal
Interest

Payment $1,352 (+3.7%)
Principal $ 902 (14.4% of income)

Source: Authors’ calculations
21

Stock of outstanding debt has aged since 2003
Months since origination

80
70

25th percentile

50th percentile

75th percentile

average

60
50
40
30
20

10

Mean loan age rises from 23 to 50 months
2015Q3

2015Q1

2014Q3

2014Q1

2013Q3

2013Q1

2012Q3

2012Q1

2011Q3

2011Q1

2010Q3

2010Q1

2009Q3

2009Q1

2008Q3

2008Q1

2007Q3

2007Q1

2006Q3

2006Q1

2005Q3

2005Q1

2004Q3

2004Q1

2003Q3

2003Q1

2002Q3

2002Q1

2001Q3

2001Q1

2000Q3

2000Q1

1999Q3

1999Q1

0

Source: New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel / Equifax
22

9

1

2000 - Jan
2000 - Aug
2001 - Mar
2001 - Oct
2002 - May
2002 - Dec
2003 - Jul
2004 - Feb
2004 - Sep
2005 - Apr
2005 - Nov
2006 - Jun
2007 - Jan
2007 - Aug
2008 - Mar
2008 - Oct
2009 - May
2009 - Dec
2010 - Jul
2011 - Feb
2011 - Sep
2012 - Apr
2012 - Nov
2013 - Jun
2014 - Jan
2014 - Aug
2015 - Mar

Mortgage rates much lower, especially for 15-year
30-year
15-year
7/06: 6.8%
Diff (right axis)
1

8
0.8

7

6

0.6

5
0.4

4
0.2

3

2
0

12/12: 2.7%

0
-0.2

-0.4

23

Credit Score at Origination: Mortgages*
Score

Score
800

800

750

Median

700

750

700
25th percentile

650

650
10th percentile

600

600

550

550

Tight lending standards mean lower interest rates for average borrower
500
99:Q2

500

01:Q2

03:Q2

05:Q2

07:Q2

09:Q2

11:Q2

13:Q2

15:Q2

Source: FRBNY Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax
* Credit Score is Equifax Riskscore 3.0; mortgages include first-liens only.

24

1999:Q1
1999:Q3
2000:Q1
2000:Q3
2001:Q1
2001:Q3
2002:Q1
2002:Q3
2003:Q1
2003:Q3
2004:Q1
2004:Q3
2005:Q1
2005:Q3
2006:Q1
2006:Q3
2007:Q1
2007:Q3
2008:Q1
2008:Q3
2009:Q1
2009:Q3
2010:Q1
2010:Q3
2011:Q1
2011:Q3
2012:Q1
2012:Q3
2013:Q1
2013:Q3
2014:Q1
2014:Q3
2015:Q1
2015:Q3

Effective rate on outstanding mortgages has fallen
Percent
8

7

6

5

4

3

2

Down over 50% (380 bps) since 2000

1

0

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis
25

Mortgage payments and their composition

$Billions

2008-2015: Total payment falls 8%, principal paydown rises 41%
250.0
principal reduction
interest payment (portion that does not reduce principal)
quarterly payment

200.0

150.0

100.0

50.0

2015: $298B

2008: $209B

201512

201506

201412

201406

201312

201306

201212

201206

201112

201106

201012

201006

200912

200906

200812

200806

200712

200706

200612

200606

200512

200506

200412

200406

200312

200306

200212

200206

200112

200106

200012

200006

199912

199906

0.0

Source: New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel / Equifax
26

Summary


Between 2000-2006, house prices and mortgage debt both
doubled



Since 2012 house prices have risen 34%, mortgage debt < 1%



Foreclosures’ effect on reducing debt is fading



Equity withdrawal and transactions adding only modestly to
balances
 $400

billion vs $1.4 trillion annual
 Stable since 2012


A big change: increased principal paydown from aging stock of
continuing debt and refinances into lower rate, shorter term debt
 $300

billion in paydown annually
 A major increase in savings for these households

27

Explanations, implications and outlook


Some of this is easy to understand
 When

borrower doesn’t move or refinance, debt gets older and
principal payment goes up
 Lower rates and shorter terms refinances largely due to . . .


. . . decline in overall rates
 . . . especially low 15-yr r
 Tighter



standards mean average borrower gets a lower rate

Some of it is less clear
 Are

less equity withdrawal and transactions due to . . .



. . . borrower caution
or
 . . . tighter standards/supply?
 Could

be a sign of stress for some borrowers (eg young student
borrowers)

28

Explanations, implications and outlook


Whatever the causes, these factors are increasing personal
savings for these borrowers



Existing stock of debt likely to “age in place”
 If

rates go up, strong incentives to continue in low rate mortgage
 Leading to slow increase in pay-down/saving


Could be offset by increase in equity withdrawal or purchase
borrowing
 But

little sign of that yet

29