Credit scores for U.S. consumers reached a record high this spring while the share of Americans deemed to be some of the riskiest borrowers hit a record low – a potential boon for lending and economic activity.
More than six million U.S. adults will have personal bankruptcies disappear over the next five years. The average credit score nationwide hit 700 in April, up one point from last fall. That is the highest since at least 2005, the year Fair Isaac(FICO) began tracking the data.
Meanwhile, the share of consumers deemed to be riskiest, with a score below 600, hit a new low of roughly 40 million, or 20% of U.S. adults who have FICO scores. That is down from the peak of 25% in 2010.
Source: Barclay’s PLC, Fair Isaac Corp, by AnnaMaria Andriotis, Wall Street Journal, May 30, 2017.