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Consumer loan delinquencies fell across the board in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 as borrowers were helped by improving job and housing markets, the American Bankers Association said.

Total delinquencies in the 11 categories surveyed by the ABA fell to 2.49% of all accounts, from 2.59% in the prior quarter, the ABA said Thursday in its Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin.

“You can’t get a better consumer credit report card than this,” James Chessen, the ABA’s chief economist, said in a statement. He credited consumer deleveraging and improvements in the broader economy for the positive results.

The report marked the first time in eight years all 11 loan categories fell in the same quarter.

The ABA survey, which defines delinquency as a late payment that is 30 days or more overdue, found that credit card late payments dropped to 3.17% of all accounts, from 3.25%, equaling the lowest level since 2001, the ABA said. Home-equity credit line delinquencies fell to 1.69% of all accounts, from 1.93% in the third quarter.

“The economic tide at the end of 2011 lifted most boats,” Chessen said. “The biggest concern I have now is retail gas prices.”

Home equity loan delinquencies fell to 4.08% in the fourth quarter, from 4.12% three months earlier as the housing market moved closer to stabilization.

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Consumer confidence grew again in February, fueled by a more optimistic outlook for the economy and personal finances, according to the Discover U.S. Spending Monitor, a daily poll tracking economic sentiment and spending plans of nearly 8,200 consumers throughout the month.

The Monitor jumped 4.4 points form the previous month to 94.9. It’s the highest level since October 2007. Highlights of the report include:

Personal Finance Confidence Reaches Pre-Recession Levels

Consumer sentiment about personal finances continued to improve in February.

•    More than 36% now rate their finances as either excellent or good, which is the highest figure in more than a year and a jump of 2 points from the month earlier.
•    Nearly one-quarter, or 24%, of consumers believe their personal finances are getting better. Forty-three percent view their finances as getting worse, which is 4 percentage points lower than last month and the lowest level since October 2007.
•    There were fewer consumers with higher incomes (above $75,000 annually) and lower incomes (below $40,000 annually) viewing their personal finances as worse compared to last month. These figures declined by 6 percentage points to 29% and 3 percentage points to 55%, respectively. The portion of middle-class income consumers who view their personal finances as getting worse remained unchanged at 42% from January 2012.
•    Nearly 50% of consumers reported they had money in their pockets after paying bills last month, the highest level since March 2009.

Economic Expectations Growing, Particularly Among Men

•    Expectations for the U.S. economy are improving. For the first time since January 2011, nearly one-third of consumers, or 32%, believe the economy is getting better. This is 2 percentage points higher than the prior month.
•    While more than half, or 52%, of consumers rate the U.S. economy as poor, this is the lowest level since January 2011. Only 12% of respondents view the economy as excellent or good, an increase of 1 percentage point over last month and 3 percentage points compared to February 2011.
•    More than 35% of men view the economy as getting better, an increase of nearly 5 percentage points over January 2012. However, only 29% of women share the expectation that the economy is getting better, and this level did not change from last month.

Consumers Remain Cautious About Spending Intentions

Consumers’ growing confidence in the economy and their personal finances is not substantially boosting purchasing intentions. While 28% say they plan to spend more next month, a 4-point increase from the month before, the most significant increase came from a spike in household expenses, such as gasoline and groceries.

•    Spending next month on household expenses, including gasoline, is most likely to increase. More than 44% of consumers expect to spend more, an increase of 7 percentage points compared to the prior month. Gas prices are near the record high of $4.11 set in July of 2008, when more than 57% of consumers expected spending on household expenses to increase in the next month.
•    Historically, the Monitor experiences an uptick in home improvement spending in the Spring. In February 2012, 14% indicated they plan to spend more, a 2-point increase and the highest level for the month of February since 2008.
•    Nearly 10% of consumers expect to spend more on discretionary purchases like going out to dinner or the movies, a slight increase of 2 percentage points compared to the prior month.
•    Despite the coming of Spring break for many consumers, expectations for spending on major personal purchases, like vacations, in the next month remained unchanged from the prior month at 12%.

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U.S. consumer borrowing surged 10% in November, its largest gain in a decade, and a positive sign for the fragile economy. The increase was the 13th in 14 months and the biggest jump since creditors boosted lending after the September 11 attacks.

Outstanding consumer credit increased to $20.37 billion during the month, the Federal Reserve reported Monday.

Revolving credit, which mostly measures credit-card use, rose $5.60 billion, a third straight monthly increase. Revolving debt generally has declined over the past two years as consumers increasingly have paid down credit card balances and steered away from taking on fresh debt following the recession, economists say.

Non-revolving credit, which includes student and auto loans, rose a seasonally adjusted $14.78 billion in November.

Government lending to students may have been a significant factor in the increase, rising $6.4 billion. The student lending data is not adjusted for seasonal fluctuations.

Government loans to students rose 31.9% through the 12 months ending in November, outperforming any other kind of non-revolving loans tracked by the Fed, including those made by commercial banks.

However, there are some signs the surge in student lending registered since the last recession is tapering. Year-over-year increases in student lending peaked at 78% in September 2010 and have trended lower ever since.

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By Darren Waggoner

U.S. consumers average credit scores dropped three points to 667 since May 2010, while credit card debt plunged by 15% to $6,740 in the same period, according to data Credit Karma released Thursday.

Even though card debt is down, “prolonged unemployment can drag scores down. The poor real estate situation puts additional pressure on credit scores as more consumers evaluate their undervalued property and the decision to keep it,” says Ken Lin, CEO at Credit Karma, the San Francisco-based company that tracks both scores and household debt through its Web site, CreditKarma.com.

Consumers in Colorado Springs, Col., Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa, Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa., Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla. and North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Fla. have the highest amount of credit card debt in the country at $7,000 or more.

The average mortgage debt fell 2% to $172,957. Consumers in 13 states decreased their mortgage by more than the national average, including: Nevada and North Carolina, down 7%; Alabama, down 6%; Florida and Michigan, down 5%; and California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Montana, Ohio and Utah – all down 3%.

“As the housing market begins to double-dip and home prices plummet, it’s not surprising that homeowner debt and equity fell,” says Lin. “Banks aren’t going to enter into new housing loans or provide equity loans when home values continue to decrease.”

Consumers in California had the highest credit score amongst states at 685, while San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland residents topped the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) list at 702.  Consumers in Alabama, Arizona, Kentucky Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and West Virginia have a credit score below 650, which is considered poor.

CreditKarma.com’s U.S. Consumer Credit Score Climate Report compares the credit scores of its user base with previous scores pulled at least 30 days prior and no more than 90 days prior to the stated month. The May 2011 report includes a comparison of more than 195,300 CreditKarma.com user scores.

Other key findings from the May report include: consumers increased auto loan debt 2% to $15,217; decreased home equity debt by 5% to $48,310; and increased student loan debt 5% to $29,680.