Credit Scores Went Up in Pandemic. Now, More Borrowers Are Slipping.

Americans whose credit scores jumped early in the pandemic are falling behind on loan payments at higher than expected rates. 

Delinquency rates for credit cards and personal loans opened in mid-2021 more closely resembled those of borrowers with credit scores 25 points lower in the first quarter of 2023, according to an analysis of more than 75 million scores by the credit-reporting company TransUnion. For auto loans, delinquency rates looked more like borrowers with credit scores that were 10 points lower.