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Credit Card Balances Fall, Driving Lower Utilization
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Delinquencies Decline, Led by Early-Stage Improvement in Mortgages
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Younger Borrowers and Unsecured Lending Drive Credit Growth
Households are pulling back on borrowing and reducing revolving balances, leading to improvements in consumer credit conditions, according to the latest edition of CreditGauge™ from VantageScore. The average VantageScore 4.0 credit score held steady at 701, reflecting continued consumer resilience amid elevated borrowing costs and broader macroeconomic uncertainty.
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“Improved credit conditions this month reflect a cautious but resilient consumer who is actively managing debt and moderating borrowing,” said Susan Fahy, EVP and Chief Digital, Data and Technology Officer at VantageScore. “The decline in credit card balances and stabilization in delinquencies point to households prioritizing balance sheet health even as economic pressures persist.”
Watch CreditGauge LIVE for additional key insights from the March 2026 edition of CreditGauge that include:
CREDIT CARD BALANCES DECLINE, DRIVING LOWER UTILIZATION: Average credit card balances declined month-over-month from February 2026, contributing to a drop in utilization to 29.68%, which fell both month-over-month (-0.72%) and year-over-year (-0.23%). The decline in revolving balances provides clearer evidence of consumer deleveraging, suggesting households are paying down debt and moderating spending, supported in part by seasonal inflows such as tax refunds.
DELINQUENCIES DECLINE, LED BY EARLY-STAGE IMPROVEMENT IN MORTGAGE: In March 2026, overall credit delinquencies declined across all stages month-over-month, indicating improvement in borrowers catching up on payments. Year-over-year delinquency improvements were driven primarily by mortgages, which decreased due to unusually high refunds with the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction increase, greatly benefiting mortgage holders.
CONTINUED CREDIT GROWTH DRIVEN BY UNSECURED LENDING AND YOUNGER BORROWERS: Originations in March 2026 remained elevated on a year-over-year basis. Originations for unsecured lending products, including credit cards and personal loans, increased compared to March 2025. Looking generationally, year-over-year credit card originations were led by Gen Z, while year-over-year personal loan originations rose the most for Millennials, as the younger generations spearheaded unsecured lending growth.
Follow VantageScore on LinkedIn and YouTube to watch CreditGauge LIVE, a monthly video series featuring our latest insights on consumer credit data and analysis.
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