CBA Releases Chart Book for Q2 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) today released its Chart Book for the second quarter of 2026, which shows a mixed picture for consumers. Consumers continue to manage debt payments relatively well, with a higher share of credit cardholders paying their balances in full each month, inflation-adjusted revolving balances declining, and delinquencies remaining stable across major loan products.

At the same time, persistent affordability pressures continue to weigh on households. Consumer sentiment remains low amid elevated prices and inflation, while the personal savings rate has fallen to record lows. Although the labor market remains broadly stable, job growth is increasingly concentrated in sectors such as healthcare, and recent college graduates continue to face higher unemployment rates than the overall workforce.

Key Findings

This edition of the Chart Book highlights:

• Consumers: Consumer debt performance remains relatively stable. A higher percentage of credit cardholders are paying off their balances in full each month, while inflation-adjusted revolving balances are declining and delinquency rates remain stable across credit card and auto loan products.

• Labor Market: The overall labor market remains stable, characterized by low unemployment, modest job growth, and low levels of layoffs. However, job gains are increasingly concentrated in sectors such as healthcare, while unemployment among recent college graduates remains elevated relative to the broader workforce.

• Household Budgets: Consumer sentiment remains low as elevated prices and inflation continue to pressure household budgets. Real wage growth has slowed for low- and median-income workers, who are experiencing higher-than-average inflation relative to wage growth. These pressures are contributing to historically low personal savings and could weigh on sustained consumer spending.

• Student Loans: The share of Direct Federal Student Loan recipients in cumulative default has reached the highest level in the available data as loan payments and delinquency reporting have resumed. While federal student loan delinquencies and defaults remain elevated, the pace of new delinquencies and defaults is slowing, suggesting that the initial wave following the end of the payment pause has largely passed.

What We're Watching

Consumer debt performance, particularly transition rates into delinquency, remain stable, and declines in the second half of 2026 would signal further improvement in consumers' ability to manage their credit.

We continue to track the downstream effects of federal student loan delinquencies and defaults. While student loan performance has deteriorated significantly since the resumption of payments, the slowing pace of new delinquencies and defaults is an encouraging sign. Understanding whether these pressures spill over into other forms of consumer credit will remain an important area of focus.

Finally, real earnings growth, inflation and price pressures, and developments in the labor market will remain central to our assessment of consumer financial health and the broader economy.

About the CBA Chart Book

This is the seventh edition of the CBA Chart Book; a quarterly snapshot of aggregate data and resources related to the retail banking industry.

As the lead voice on consumer finance issues, the CBA Chart Book is produced quarterly to equip retail banking industry leaders, policymakers, and other stakeholders with a deeper understanding of the forces shaping the future of the industry.

To view the latest edition of the CBA Chart Book, click HERE.