Has your borrowing increased as it has in the U.S. as a whole?

Consumer borrowing in the U.S. rose in March by the most it has in over a decade. That is mostly attributed to demand for student loans and car loans. In March credit rose by $21.4 billion, the biggest gain since November of 2001, to $2.54 trillion. Non-revolving debt, which includes student and car loans, rose by $16.2 billion.

I suspect the rise in student loans can be attributed to a possible increase in new student loan interest rates that may become effective July 1st without action from Congress. The rate increase would affect about 7.4 million students and add an average of $1,000 a year in payments on student loans. The difficulty in finding work in the current economy may also have contributed to the rise in student loans, as more unemployed individuals may be going back to school.

Consumer confidence is also rising, reaching a four-year high early last month, which means that households are more willing to take on debt to boost spending, which accounts for about 70% of the U.S. economy. The warm March weather may have also triggered higher than normal spring shopping for automobiles. Car and light truck sales have exceeded an annual pace of 14 million in each of the past four months, the best performance since 2008.

Revolving debt, which includes credit cards, incrased by $5.2 billion in March, which is its first gain in three months. The recent increase in credit may lead to an increase in individuals filing for bankruptcy in the near future. Bankruptcy filings decreased last month compared to the previous month and compared to the same month last year. I would welcome and questions or comments you may have. Thanks for reading!