Phoenix, Arizona - August 14, 2026 — The flow of U.S. credit-card balances into serious delinquency remained above the level recorded at the onset of the Great Recession for the 10th consecutive quarter in Q2 2026, while U.S. bankruptcy filings continued a multi-year rise, according to public data compiled by USBankruptcyHelp.com.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s serious-delinquency flow measure, which tracks credit-card balances transitioning into delinquency of 90 days or more and is presented as an annualized four-quarter moving sum, stood at 6.97% in Q2 2026.
That compares with approximately 6.75% in Q4 2007, the quarter in which the Great Recession began.
The current streak began in Q1 2024, when the serious-delinquency flow moved above the Q4 2007 benchmark, and it has remained above that level in every quarter since, through Q2 2026.
The findings are included in the new U.S. Credit Card Delinquency and Default Indicators resource published by USBankruptcyHelp.com. The page provides current and historical data on credit-card debt, serious delinquency, flows into delinquency, aggregate credit limits, and available credit.
“Ten consecutive quarters above the level recorded when the Great Recession began is a meaningful measure of how persistent credit-card stress has become,” said Casey Yontz, JD, bankruptcy attorney and founder of USBankruptcyHelp.com. “It does not mean conditions today are as severe as they became during the financial crisis, but this is no longer a one-quarter or two-quarter increase. The elevated level has persisted for two and a half years.”
During the Great Recession, serious credit-card delinquency continued to rise substantially after the recession began. The serious-delinquency flow eventually reached approximately 10.96% in Q4 2009, well above the current 6.97% level.
The current rate has also changed little during the past year. Serious-delinquency flow was 7.10% in Q1 2026 and 6.93% in Q2 2025.
The historical comparison therefore does not indicate that serious credit-card delinquency is currently accelerating. Instead, it shows that the rate at which balances are entering serious delinquency has remained elevated for an extended period.
Bankruptcy filings are rising alongside persistent credit-card stress
The prolonged elevation in serious credit-card delinquency is occurring as another measure of household financial distress continues to move higher: bankruptcy filings.
According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, 608,511 bankruptcy cases were filed during the 12 months ending June 30, 2026, up 12.2% from 542,529 during the previous 12-month period.
Nonbusiness bankruptcy filings increased 12.0%, from 519,486 to 581,570 cases.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings increased from 333,321 to 382,161, a gain of 48,840 cases. Chapter 7 cases accounted for approximately 74% of the overall increase in bankruptcy filings during the period.
Consumers struggling with persistent credit-card debt may eventually evaluate options such as chapter 7 bankruptcy or chapter 13 bankruptcy, depending on their income, property, debts, and other circumstances.
Bankruptcy filings remain well below the levels reached following the Great Recession, but the direction of the recent trend is notable. Total U.S. bankruptcy filings reached a low of 380,634 during the 12 months ending June 2022 and have increased in every quarterly reporting period since.
USBankruptcyHelp.com tracks national Chapter 7, Chapter 13, and total bankruptcy filing trends separately on its current U.S. bankruptcy filing statistics resource.
“Credit-card delinquency and bankruptcy filings measure different stages of financial distress, so one should not be treated as causing the other,” Yontz said. “But when serious credit-card delinquency remains elevated for years at the same time bankruptcy filings continue to rise, the trends are consistent with sustained financial pressure on a meaningful number of U.S. households.”
Yontz added that bankruptcy filings can reflect financial problems after households have spent considerable time trying to manage their debts.
“By the time someone sits down with a bankruptcy attorney, the financial problem usually did not start yesterday,” Yontz said. “People often spend months or years trying to keep accounts current, using available credit, cutting expenses, refinancing debt, or making minimum payments. Rising bankruptcy filings can be a later-stage indicator of financial stress that has been building for some time.”
Credit-card debt reaches $1.263 trillion
Total U.S. credit-card balances reached $1.263 trillion in Q2 2026, an increase of $21 billion from Q1 2026 and $54 billion from Q2 2025.
Flow into earlier-stage delinquency of 30 days or more stood at 8.69%, compared with 8.61% in Q1 2026 and approximately 8.58% one year earlier.
Aggregate credit-card limits continued to expand, reaching $5.559 trillion in Q2 2026, an increase of $85 billion from Q1 and $324 billion from one year earlier.
The Q2 2026 credit-limit figure is the highest observation within the available New York Fed series included in the USBankruptcyHelp.com resource.
Aggregate available credit reached $4.296 trillion, up $64 billion from Q1 and $270 billion from Q2 2025.
90+ day delinquent balances remain elevated
A separate New York Fed measure shows that 12.92% of outstanding credit-card balances were 90 or more days delinquent in Q2 2026.
That was down from 13.12% in Q1, but above approximately 12.27% in Q2 2025.
The 12.92% stock delinquency measure is higher than the readings recorded throughout 2008, although it remains below the available-series peak of 13.74% reached in Q2 2010.
However, the 12.92% stock measure and the 6.97% serious-delinquency flow measure describe different things.
The percentage of balances 90 or more days delinquent is a stock measure, representing balances that remain classified as seriously delinquent. The New York Fed has explained that this credit-bureau measure can include older charged-off balances that continue to appear on consumer credit reports.
The flow measure, by contrast, tracks balances newly transitioning into serious delinquency and is more useful for evaluating current repayment behavior.
“The two measures tell different parts of the story,” Yontz said. “Nearly 13% of credit-card balances being classified as 90-plus days delinquent sounds alarming by itself, but it should not be interpreted as nearly 13% of borrowers suddenly defaulting. Looking at the stock measure alongside the flow into delinquency gives a much clearer picture.”
More than two decades of credit-card data
The new USBankruptcyHelp.com resource includes 94 quarterly observations from Q1 2003 through Q2 2026, covering:
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total U.S. credit-card balances;
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aggregate credit-card limits;
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aggregate available credit;
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balances 90 or more days delinquent;
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flow into early 30+ day delinquency; and
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flow into serious 90+ day delinquency.
The page includes historical charts, a complete quarterly data table, definitions, and methodology designed to make the underlying Federal Reserve data easier for journalists, researchers, and consumers to interpret.
The resource also explains why serious delinquency should not automatically be treated as a formal credit-card default. The New York Fed dataset does not provide a single universal contractual national credit-card default rate, and lender definitions of default can differ.
About USBankruptcyHelp.com
USBankruptcyHelp.com is an attorney-led bankruptcy decision-support resource created to help individuals, families, and businesses understand their options, identify risks, avoid common mistakes, and decide what questions they need to answer before moving forward.
The website combines plain-English bankruptcy information with state-specific guides, calculators, estimators, comparison tools, and public data resources. Its goal is to become one of the most useful bankruptcy decision-support resources on the web by helping readers move beyond general definitions and better understand how bankruptcy may apply to their income, property, business interests, debts, and immediate financial concerns.
Bankruptcy content published by USBankruptcyHelp.com is written, reviewed, or editorially supervised by experienced bankruptcy attorneys. The website is not a law firm, does not provide legal representation, and does not offer legal advice.
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Casey Yontz, JDFounder, USBankruptcyHelp.comcasey@usbankruptcyhelp.comLinkedIn
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