Which Loan Types Are Defaulting the Most Right Now? (2026)
FHA mortgage delinquency hit 11.79% in 2026-Q2, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association National Delinquency Survey. In Q2 2026, the latest quarter both mortgage series report, FHA delinquency was 6.3 times the bank-booked single-family mortgage rate. Auto loans at 5.49% (decreased 0.11 percentage points from Q1 2026); total consumer delinquency 4.73%. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and Mortgage Bankers Association data, updated quarterly. Federal Reserve data retrieved via FRED.
What Are the Current U.S. Default Rates?
The total delinquency rate across all consumer debt stood at 4.73% in 2026-Q2 — up from a post-pandemic floor of 2.50% and approaching the pre-2008 comparison level of 4.92%. That temporal comparison does not establish a repeat of the earlier credit cycle. That aggregate, though, is the wrong place to look. The story is in what happens when you take it apart.
FHA-insured mortgages lead at 11.79%. In Q2 2026, the latest quarter both mortgage series report, FHA delinquency was 6.3 times the bank-booked single-family mortgage rate (11.79% versus 1.86%). Auto loan delinquency hit 5.49% — decreased 0.11 percentage points from Q1 2026; it was 0.11 percentage points below the full-series high of 5.60% in Q1 2026 and was 0.22 percentage points above the GFC-window peak of 5.27% in Q4 2010. The share of student loan balances 90 or more days delinquent rebounded to 10.60% after payments resumed in October 2023 and the temporary reporting on-ramp ended in September 2024. Credit card delinquency, at 2.92%, has retreated from its 2024 cycle peak. The bank-booked mortgage series is 1.86%. These measures cover different products, populations, and delinquency definitions; their relative levels do not reveal a household payment sequence or a shared cause. The American Distress Index tracks these delinquency rates in its Delinquency domain, currently reading 43.8 (Typical). On average, its inputs sit higher than in 44% of their own quarterly histories.
Default Rates at a Glance
The American Distress Index currently reads 43.8 (Typical). On average, its inputs sit higher than in 44% of their own quarterly histories. The ADI's Delinquency domain draws on mortgage, credit card, consumer loan, and auto loan delinquency rates. The divergence between FHA and bank-booked single-family mortgage performance, and between auto and credit card delinquency, shows why definitions and covered populations matter when comparing aggregate rates. These series do not establish which households overlap or a fixed sequence from savings depletion to default. For the full domain-by-domain breakdown, see the American Distress Index.
How Do Default Rates Compare Across Loan Types?
Six consumer debt categories are ranked by their current reported rate. The rows are not interchangeable: some measure balances 30 or 90 days late, FHA covers mortgages whose plans offer that insurance, and the commercial-bank series use their own portfolios. Co-movement can motivate further research, but it cannot identify the same borrowers, a household payment order, or one common cause.
| Loan Type | Current Rate | Year Ago | Change | Historical Peak | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FHA Mortgage | 11.79% | 10.57% | +1.22 percentage points | 17.45% (2020) | rising |
| Student Loan Balances (90+ days) | 10.60% | 10.16% | +0.44 percentage points | 11.56% (2015) | rising |
| Auto Loan (90+ days) | 5.49% | 4.99% | +0.5 percentage points | 5.60% (2026) | rising |
| All Products (30+ days) | 4.73% | 4.41% | +0.32 percentage points | 11.90% (2009) | falling |
| Credit Card (all banks) | 2.92% | 3.06% | -0.14 percentage points | 6.77% (2009) | falling |
| Bank-Booked Mortgage | 1.86% | 1.78% | +0.08 percentage points | 11.48% (2010) | rising |
Each row links to a full indicator page with quarterly data, charts, and ADI methodology context.
How Have Default Rates Changed Since 2005?
The overlay chart below shows four major loan categories on a single axis. Three of them peak during the GFC and decline afterward. The auto-loan reading decreased 0.11 percentage points from Q1 2026; it was 0.11 percentage points below the full-series high of 5.60% in Q1 2026 and was 0.22 percentage points above the GFC-window peak of 5.27% in Q4 2010.
Student-loan delinquency is excluded from this overlay because payment, on-ramp, and credit-reporting changes create a comparability break in the series. See the student-loan section below for its reporting chronology and separate axis.
Delinquency Rates: Credit Card, Mortgage, Auto Loan, Total (2005–Present)
Sources: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System data retrieved via FRED (DRCCLACBS, DRSFRMACBS); Federal Reserve Bank of New York Household Debt and Credit Report.
How Does FHA Delinquency Compare With the Fed Bank-Booked Series?
FHA-insured mortgages and the Fed's bank-booked single-family mortgage series cover different mortgage populations. FHA delinquency was 6.3 times the bank-booked rate in Q2 2026, the latest quarter both series report. In 2007, the same calculated ratio stood at 5.8 times; the bank-booked series later moved from 2.08% in 2007 to 11.49% in 2010.
The paired gap was 9.93 percentage points in Q2 2026: FHA at 11.79% and bank-booked single-family mortgages at 1.86%. The aggregate series do not identify which borrower characteristics caused the gap. Housing conditions, employment, loan terms, and population composition require separate evidence; the historical comparison is context rather than a prediction.
FHA vs. Bank-Booked Mortgage Delinquency
Sources: Mortgage Bankers Association National Delinquency Survey (FHA); Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System data retrieved via FRED, DRSFRMACBS (bank-booked single-family mortgages).
Full analysis: The FHA Signal indicator page · Historical FHA Signal thesis
How Does the Latest Auto-Loan Reading Compare With Earlier Peaks?
At 5.49%, the share of auto-loan balances at least 90 days delinquent decreased 0.11 percentage points from Q1 2026. The latest reading was 0.11 percentage points below the full-series high of 5.60% in Q1 2026 and was 0.22 percentage points above the GFC-window peak of 5.27% in Q4 2010. Because an auto loan is secured by the vehicle, delinquency can put transportation at risk, but this series does not record a household's payment priorities.
The aggregate personal saving rate is 2.7%, at its lowest level since 2022-06. That separate flow measure does not reveal whether the same households have auto-loan delinquencies or whether savings changed before a missed payment. The complete auto-loan path is plotted below.
Full data: Auto loan delinquency time series · "The Two-Economy Problem"
How Did Student-Loan Reporting Change After Pandemic Protections?
Federal student-loan payments resumed in October 2023. A separate 12-month Department of Education "on-ramp" limited adverse credit reporting for missed payments through September 30, 2024. The 0.53% Q4 2024 reading therefore sits at a reporting transition; it should not be treated as an ordinary measure of borrower health or as the date payment obligations first returned.
The reported share of balances 90 or more days delinquent later rose to 10.60%. The pre-pandemic average was approximately 10.90%. That comparison describes the reported balance series; it does not show how many borrowers first missed a payment in a particular quarter or isolate the effects of repayment, the on-ramp's end, servicing, or credit-reporting transitions. The student-loan statistics page shows the full trajectory and definitions.
Full data: The Default Cliff indicator page · Consumer Debt Statistics 2026
Different Series, Different Populations
Total delinquency is 4.73%, credit card delinquency is 2.92%, and FHA delinquency was 6.3 times the bank-booked single-family mortgage rate in Q2 2026. The auto-loan reading is 5.49% and 0.22 percentage points above the GFC-window peak of 5.27% in Q4 2010. The matched outside-top-100 minus top-100 credit-card delinquency spread was 3.75 percentage points in 2026-Q2. It subtracts DRCCLT100S from DRCCLOBS for one quarter and FRED realtime vintage. Each comparison retains its own source population and denominator.
Differences across those aggregates can support narrower questions, but they do not prove that the same borrowers appear in each series, that one group is uniformly worsening, or that one measure leads another. Hardship withdrawals are another distinct aggregate series and should be interpreted on their own population and methodology.
See the matched bank-population comparison →Which Mortgage Servicers Have the Most Complaints?
Default rates vary by servicer as well as by loan type. Servicers that manage large portfolios of FHA and government-insured loans tend to have higher delinquency rates and complaint volumes. Among the most-complained-about: Nationstar Mortgage (18,593 complaints), Freedom Mortgage (8,093), Caliber Home Loans (4,317), Dovenmuehle Mortgage (2,115), Lakeview Loan Servicing (2,496), RoundPoint Mortgage (2,624), and AmeriHome Mortgage (1,694).
See all 76 servicer profiles for complaint records and loss mitigation contact information.
Data Sources and Methodology
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Credit card and mortgage delinquency rates from quarterly commercial bank call reports, retrieved via FRED. Series DRCCLACBS (credit card), DRSFRMACBS (single-family residential mortgage, 30+ days past due plus nonaccrual). Published quarterly with approximately one-month lag.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York Household Debt and Credit Report
Auto loan delinquency, student loan delinquency, and total delinquency (30+ days) from a nationally representative 5% sample of Equifax consumer credit data. Published quarterly. The authoritative source for cross-product consumer credit analysis.
Mortgage Bankers Association National Delinquency Survey
FHA mortgage delinquency from the Mortgage Bankers Association's quarterly survey of loan servicers. Covers approximately 88% of outstanding first-lien mortgages. The only source that breaks out FHA, VA, and conventional delinquency separately.
American Distress Index
The ADI's Delinquency domain incorporates mortgage, credit card, consumer loan, and auto loan delinquency. Each input is ranked against its own full quarterly history. Current ADI: 43.8. For a printable summary of the current ADI reading, see the ADI one-pager.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which loan type has the highest default rate in 2026?
Among the series compared here, FHA-insured mortgages have the highest reported delinquency rate at 11.79% as of 2026-Q2. In Q2 2026, the latest quarter both mortgage series report, FHA delinquency was 11.79% — 6.3 times the bank-booked single-family mortgage rate of 1.86%. The series cover different loan populations and definitions, so the gap does not by itself identify a borrower characteristic or cause. The student-loan figure is 10.60% of balances 90 or more days delinquent; it is not a share of borrowers.
What is the current U.S. default rate across all loan types?
The total delinquency rate across all consumer debt products was 4.73% (30+ days past due) in 2026-Q2, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Household Debt and Credit Report. This measures the share of all outstanding balances that are at least 30 days late on payment. The rate has risen from a post-pandemic low of 2.50% and is approaching pre-GFC levels of 4.92%.
What does the latest auto-loan delinquency reading show?
The serious delinquency rate at 5.49%, the rate decreased 0.11 percentage points from Q1 2026; it was 0.11 percentage points below the full-series high of 5.60% in Q1 2026 and was 0.22 percentage points above the GFC-window peak of 5.27% in Q4 2010. This is a share of outstanding auto-loan balances, not borrowers or accounts. In Q2 2026, FHA mortgage delinquency was 11.79%, or roughly 6.3 times the same-quarter bank-booked single-family mortgage rate of 1.86%. These cross-product levels provide context, but their different populations and definitions do not establish one common cause.
How do current default rates compare to the 2008 financial crisis?
Most default rates remain below their GFC peaks: total delinquency peaked at 11.90% (versus 4.73% today), credit cards at 6.77% (versus 2.92%), and bank-booked single-family mortgages at 11.48% (versus 1.86%). The closest call is auto loans: at 5.49%, the rate decreased 0.11 percentage points from Q1 2026; it was 0.11 percentage points below the full-series high of 5.60% in Q1 2026 and was 0.22 percentage points above the GFC-window peak of 5.27% in Q4 2010. FHA delinquency at 11.79% is below its COVID peak of 15.65% and below the pre-GFC reading of 12.15% in 2007.
What is the difference between delinquency rate and default rate?
Delinquency means a borrower has missed one or more payments (typically measured at 30+ or 90+ days past due). Default has no single regulatory definition — for student loans it means 270+ days delinquent; for mortgages, lenders typically consider 90+ days as default territory. Charge-off occurs when the lender writes the debt off its books, usually after 120-180 days. In consumer lending data, 'default rate' and 'delinquency rate' are often used interchangeably, though delinquency is the more precise statistical term.