us creditcard debt appears to be stubbornly holding near 1 trillion the federal reserve bank of new york said in its quarterly report on household debt and credit monday in the fourth quarter when creditcard debt tends to rise due to the holiday shopping creditcard balances hit a whopping 986 billion surpassing prepandemic levels the new york fed said in a previous report the first quarter however is usually marked by falling creditcard debt levels as consumers pay that off but that wasn’t the case in 2023 creditcard balances held firm at 986 billion the new york fed said monday it was the first time creditcard debt levels had failed to fall between the fourth and first quarter in more than 20 years new york fed researchers said at the same time creditcard interest rates are also on the rise according to bankrate data the average creditcard interest rate is currently at a record high of 2033 making it more expensive for consumers to carry debt interest rates can also vary by consumers’ credit scores skewing higher for borrowers who are considered more “risky” young adults in communities of color are more likely to be in debt compared to their counterparts in majoritywhite communities and more likely to have lower credit scores still on the whole total us household debt balances were up by 148 billion in the first quarter to reach 1705 trillion new york fed researchers said a slightly more muted increase compared to previous quarters considering last year’s fourth and third quarters saw total debt levels rise 394 billion and 351 billion respectively one factor driving the more modest rise in debt levels the first quarter had the lowest level of mortgage originations including refinances since 2014 reaching a level of 324 billion in a blog post monday new york fed researchers noted that a “pandemic boom” in refinancing supported by lower interest rates and stronger household balance sheets appeared to be over though the 14 million mortgages refinanced earlier in the pandemic will “have effects on the mortgage market for years to come” “the improved cash flow generated by the recent refinance boom will potentially provide significant support to future consumption” the new york fed researchers wrote meanwhile delinquency rates while up slightly also remained low in the first quarter despite rising debt levels new foreclosures are also still low “the delinquency transition rate for credit cards and auto loans increased by 06 and 02 percentage points respectively approaching or surpassing their prepandemic levels” the new york fed said in a statement monday