Latest gap
3.8 percentage points Q2 2026
Credit Card Delinquency Gap: Smaller Banks vs. the 100 Largest
Down from 4.1 percentage points a year earlier.
Where the Credit Card Delinquency Gap: Smaller Banks vs. the 100 Largest stands now
The Credit Card Delinquency Gap: Smaller Banks vs. the 100 Largest was 3.8 percentage points in the second quarter of 2026. Since 2010 it has ranged from -0.6 percentage points in the first quarter of 2010 to 5 percentage points in the third quarter of 2022.
What it means for households: Credit Card Default Statistics Behind on payments? Your Rights with Debt Collectors
How the Credit Card Delinquency Gap: Smaller Banks vs. the 100 Largest has moved since 1991
Credit Card Delinquency Gap: Smaller Banks vs. the 100 Largest: down since 2022
Outside top 100 minus top 100, percentage points: 3.8 percentage points in the second quarter of 2026, down from 4.1 percentage points a year earlier. Quarterly, 1991–2026.
What the Credit Card Delinquency Gap: Smaller Banks vs. the 100 Largest measures
Measurement basis: Seasonally adjusted, end-of-quarter delinquency rate on credit card loans at commercial banks outside the 100 largest by assets minus the corresponding rate at banks ranked 1st through 100th, in percentage points. Both rates are taken from the same Federal Reserve Board release, the same realtime vintage, before one is subtracted from the other.
Credit Card Delinquency Gap: Smaller Banks vs. the 100 Largest by quarter, 1991 to 2026
Every quarter since 1991, newest first. The change compares each quarter with the same quarter a year earlier.
The source changed how it measures this in Q1 2010. From the first quarter of 2010, credit card rates cover loans that banks had securitized and previously kept off their balance sheets. Accounting standards FAS 166 and 167 required banks to bring those loans back on, and the Board states the change is reflected in the 2010-Q1 Call Reports; one large credit card bank made the move in the fourth quarter of 2009. The Board's H.8 notes put the credit card and other revolving loans consolidated by domestically chartered commercial banks at about $335 billion as of March 31, 2010. Rates from 2010 on are measured over a different pool of loans than earlier readings. Figures on either side are not directly comparable, so the change column stays blank where a comparison would cross that date. Source documentation.
| Quarter | Gap (pp) | Change from a year earlier (percentage points) |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 3.8 | −0.3 |
| Q1 2026 | 3.6 | −0.7 |
| Q4 2025 | 3.8 | −0.4 |
| Q3 2025 | 3.9 | −0.5 |
| Q2 2025 | 4.1 | −0.6 |
| Q1 2025 | 4.3 | −0.5 |
| Q4 2024 | 4.2 | −0.7 |
| Q3 2024 | 4.4 | −0.3 |
| Q2 2024 | 4.7 | −0.1 |
| Q1 2024 | 4.8 | −0.1 |
| Q4 2023 | 4.9 | +0.1 |
| Q3 2023 | 4.7 | −0.3 |
| Q2 2023 | 4.8 | +0.5 |
| Q1 2023 | 4.9 | +1.3 |
| Q4 2022 | 4.8 | +1.7 |
| Q3 2022 | 5.0 | +2.1 |
| Q2 2022 | 4.3 | +1.6 |
| Q1 2022 | 3.6 | +0.8 |
| Q4 2021 | 3.1 | +0.1 |
| Q3 2021 | 2.9 | −0.3 |
| Q2 2021 | 2.7 | −0.6 |
| Q1 2021 | 2.8 | −1.8 |
| Q4 2020 | 3.0 | −1.2 |
| Q3 2020 | 3.2 | −0.3 |
| Q2 2020 | 3.3 | −0.8 |
| Q1 2020 | 4.6 | +1.5 |
| Q4 2019 | 4.2 | +1.1 |
| Q3 2019 | 3.5 | 0.0 |
| Q2 2019 | 4.1 | +0.4 |
| Q1 2019 | 3.1 | −0.5 |
| Q4 2018 | 3.1 | 0.0 |
| Q3 2018 | 3.5 | +0.6 |
| Q2 2018 | 3.7 | +2.1 |
| Q1 2018 | 3.6 | +2.4 |
| Q4 2017 | 3.1 | +2.1 |
| Q3 2017 | 2.9 | +2.1 |
| Q2 2017 | 1.6 | +0.7 |
| Q1 2017 | 1.2 | +0.3 |
| Q4 2016 | 1.0 | +0.3 |
| Q3 2016 | 0.8 | −0.7 |
| Q2 2016 | 0.9 | −0.6 |
| Q1 2016 | 0.9 | −0.4 |
| Q4 2015 | 0.7 | −0.5 |
| Q3 2015 | 1.5 | +0.3 |
| Q2 2015 | 1.5 | +0.4 |
| Q1 2015 | 1.3 | +0.3 |
| Q4 2014 | 1.2 | +0.2 |
| Q3 2014 | 1.2 | +0.3 |
| Q2 2014 | 1.1 | +0.4 |
| Q1 2014 | 1.0 | +0.3 |
| Q4 2013 | 1.0 | +0.4 |
| Q3 2013 | 0.9 | +0.5 |
| Q2 2013 | 0.7 | +0.3 |
| Q1 2013 | 0.7 | +0.4 |
| Q4 2012 | 0.6 | +0.4 |
| Q3 2012 | 0.4 | +0.3 |
| Q2 2012 | 0.4 | +0.3 |
| Q1 2012 | 0.3 | +0.1 |
| Q4 2011 | 0.2 | +0.2 |
| Q3 2011 | 0.1 | −0.1 |
| Q2 2011 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| Q1 2011 | 0.2 | +0.8 |
| Q4 2010 | 0.0 | — |
| Q3 2010 | 0.2 | — |
| Q2 2010 | 0.0 | — |
| Q1 2010 | −0.6 | — |
| Q4 2009 | −1.3 | −1.3 |
| Q3 2009 | −2.5 | −2.6 |
| Q2 2009 | −2.3 | −2.5 |
| Q1 2009 | −2.0 | −2.4 |
| Q4 2008 | 0.0 | +0.1 |
| Q3 2008 | 0.1 | +0.4 |
| Q2 2008 | 0.2 | +0.6 |
| Q1 2008 | 0.4 | +0.9 |
| Q4 2007 | −0.1 | +0.5 |
| Q3 2007 | −0.3 | +0.7 |
| Q2 2007 | −0.4 | +0.7 |
| Q1 2007 | −0.5 | +0.3 |
| Q4 2006 | −0.6 | 0.0 |
| Q3 2006 | −1.0 | −1.4 |
| Q2 2006 | −1.1 | −1.6 |
| Q1 2006 | −0.8 | −1.6 |
| Q4 2005 | −0.6 | −2.2 |
| Q3 2005 | 0.4 | −1.3 |
| Q2 2005 | 0.5 | −1.5 |
| Q1 2005 | 0.8 | −0.4 |
| Q4 2004 | 1.6 | −0.5 |
| Q3 2004 | 1.7 | +0.2 |
| Q2 2004 | 2.0 | +0.2 |
| Q1 2004 | 1.2 | −0.8 |
| Q4 2003 | 2.1 | +0.8 |
| Q3 2003 | 1.5 | 0.0 |
| Q2 2003 | 1.8 | +0.9 |
| Q1 2003 | 2.0 | +1.1 |
| Q4 2002 | 1.3 | +0.3 |
| Q3 2002 | 1.5 | +0.3 |
| Q2 2002 | 0.9 | −0.3 |
| Q1 2002 | 0.9 | +0.1 |
| Q4 2001 | 1.0 | +0.4 |
| Q3 2001 | 1.2 | +1.0 |
| Q2 2001 | 1.2 | +1.0 |
| Q1 2001 | 0.8 | +0.4 |
| Q4 2000 | 0.6 | +0.1 |
| Q3 2000 | 0.2 | −0.1 |
| Q2 2000 | 0.2 | −0.2 |
| Q1 2000 | 0.4 | +0.3 |
| Q4 1999 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| Q3 1999 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Q2 1999 | 0.4 | −0.1 |
| Q1 1999 | 0.1 | −0.4 |
| Q4 1998 | 0.5 | +0.2 |
| Q3 1998 | 0.3 | −0.5 |
| Q2 1998 | 0.5 | −0.2 |
| Q1 1998 | 0.5 | −0.2 |
| Q4 1997 | 0.3 | −0.4 |
| Q3 1997 | 0.8 | +0.2 |
| Q2 1997 | 0.7 | +0.7 |
| Q1 1997 | 0.7 | +0.7 |
| Q4 1996 | 0.7 | +0.8 |
| Q3 1996 | 0.6 | +1.0 |
| Q2 1996 | 0.0 | +0.2 |
| Q1 1996 | 0.0 | +0.1 |
| Q4 1995 | −0.1 | +0.2 |
| Q3 1995 | −0.4 | −0.1 |
| Q2 1995 | −0.2 | 0.0 |
| Q1 1995 | −0.1 | +0.7 |
| Q4 1994 | −0.3 | +0.8 |
| Q3 1994 | −0.3 | +1.0 |
| Q2 1994 | −0.2 | +1.3 |
| Q1 1994 | −0.8 | +0.9 |
| Q4 1993 | −1.1 | +0.6 |
| Q3 1993 | −1.3 | +0.8 |
| Q2 1993 | −1.5 | +0.7 |
| Q1 1993 | −1.7 | 0.0 |
| Q4 1992 | −1.7 | −0.5 |
| Q3 1992 | −2.1 | −1.0 |
| Q2 1992 | −2.2 | −1.0 |
| Q1 1992 | −1.7 | −0.5 |
| Q4 1991 | −1.2 | — |
| Q3 1991 | −1.1 | — |
| Q2 1991 | −1.2 | — |
| Q1 1991 | −1.2 | — |
Quarterly · Computed (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System data retrieved via FRED: DRCCLOBS - DRCCLT100S)
Counties with the highest delinquency scores
There's no county figure for this measure, so this list uses the delinquency part of our County Distress Index.
| Rank | County | Score (0–100) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coahoma County, MS | 99.5 |
| 2 | Washington County, MS | 99.3 |
| 3 | Leflore County, MS | 99.3 |
| 4 | Williamsburg County, SC | 99.2 |
| 5 | Dillon County, SC | 98.9 |
| 6 | Clayton County, GA | 98.9 |
| 7 | Yazoo County, MS | 98.6 |
| 8 | Sunflower County, MS | 98.5 |
| 9 | Marlboro County, SC | 98.4 |
| 10 | Dallas County, AL | 98.3 |
Questions about credit card delinquency at small and large banks
What is the credit card delinquency gap between smaller and largest banks?
In the second quarter of 2026 the credit card delinquency rate at commercial banks outside the 100 largest was 3.8 percentage points higher than the rate at the 100 largest, down from 4.1 percentage points a year earlier. The gap is the Federal Reserve Board's seasonally adjusted rate for all other commercial banks minus its rate for the 100 largest, in the same quarter. It does not explain the difference. Source: Federal Reserve Board data retrieved via FRED.
How should the gap's sign be read?
A positive gap means the delinquency rate on card balances at banks outside the 100 largest was higher in that quarter. A negative gap means the rate at the 100 largest was higher. The size is the difference in percentage points, not a percent change.
Where does this data come from?
The Federal Reserve Board compiles both seasonally adjusted quarterly rates from bank Call Reports in its Charge-Off and Delinquency Rates on Loans and Leases at Commercial Banks release. FRED republishes them as DRCCLOBS and DRCCLT100S. The Board publishes no gap; we subtract the two.
Does the gap identify borrowers or causes?
No. It is arithmetic on two rates built from bank balances. It does not describe customers, credit scores, lending strategy or why the rates differ.
Sources and method for the Credit Card Delinquency Gap: Smaller Banks vs. the 100 Largest
- Computed (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System data retrieved via FRED: DRCCLOBS - DRCCLT100S) Measurement basis: Seasonally adjusted, end-of-quarter delinquency rate on credit card loans at commercial banks outside the 100 largest by assets minus the corresponding rate at banks ranked 1st through 100th, in percentage points. Both rates are taken from the same Federal Reserve Board release, the same realtime vintage, before one is subtracted from the other. We use the quarterly figures as published, from the first quarter of 1991 through the second quarter of 2026, with no adjustment of our own. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System’s report (1) Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System’s report (2)
We write with assistance from AI tools. Figures come from the data and sources named on this page.