Credit card debt rising in Charlotte, report finds

Credit card debt in the Charlotte area and across the state rose in 2011, with both levels remaining well above the national average, according to a new report from TransUnion.

The global credit information company found Charlotte-area borrowers owed about $6,300, on average, in the fourth quarter of 2011, up 5 percent from the same period the year before. Statewide, the average borrower owed about $5,800, up 2 percent from 2010.

North Carolina's debt was fourth-highest in the U.S., ranking behind Alaska, Colorado and Connecticut, TransUnion's quarterly analysis of credit-active U.S. consumers showed. Nationally, by comparison, the average credit card borrower owed about $5,200.

More N.C. borrowers are falling behind, too, the report found. The state's delinquency rate - the ratio of borrowers 90 or more days past due - climbed in 2011 to 0.85 percent from 0.78 percent the year before.

That bucked the national trend: The U.S. credit card delinquency rate fell 5 percent to 0.78, well below historical norms, as riskier loans continued to work through the system and consumers worked harder to manage debt, TransUnion found.

The firm predicts delinquency rates will climb in coming months as a result of broader economic concerns but will fall gradually by the end of the year.

While Charlotte credit card debt has climbed recently, TransUnion's data show it has fallen since the recession began. In the fourth quarter of 2007, for instance, the average Charlotte-area borrower owed nearly $6,800, the firm found.