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Americans are getting their finances in order as banks report fewer mortgage and credit card defaults
January 21st, 2011
 One of the nation's largest consumer lenders, Wells Fargo, announced that 29% fewer loans went bad in the 4th quarter of 2010 compared to the same period a year earlier.
Additionally, an analysis by Barclays Capital showed that late payments on credit cards issued by Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Citigroup improved at a record pace. The news is just another recent sign of better trends in the economic recovery, and is especially impressive considering consumer spending is also up.
Still, consumer lending as a whole is down even though borrowers are doing better with their payments, and tighter lending standards and practices make up part of that equation. Looking to the future, the silver lining in the mess of the last few years may just be that a country that became so accustom to over extending itself is finally cleaning up its act.
- Robert E. Wasser - Bellevue and Seattle real estate blog, news, and market trends
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