Shocking, Record Explosion In Student Loan Delinquencies Marks The Start Of Next Debt Crisis

Total household debt rose by $185 billion in the second quarter of 2025, a 1% rise from Q1 2025. Balances now stand at $18.39 trillion and have increased by $4.24 trillion since the end of 2019, just before the pandemic recession.

Before is a snapshot of the latest Q2 data, courtesy of the NY Fed:

Balances

• Mortgage balances grew by $131 billion during the second quarter of 2025 and totaled $12.94 trillion at the end of June.
• Balances on home equity lines of credit (HELOC) rose by $9 billion, the thirteenth consecutive quarterly increase. There is now $411 billion in outstanding HELOC balances, $94 billion above the low reached in the first quarter of 2022.
• Credit card balances rose by $27 billion during the second quarter and now total $1.21 trillion outstanding and are 5.87% above the level a year ago.
• Auto loan balances rose by $13 billion, and now stand at $1.66 trillion.
• Other balances, which include retail cards  and consumer finance loans, were roughly unchanged at $540 billion.
• Student loan balances edged up by $7 billion and now stand at $1.64 trillion.
• In total, non-housing balances increased by $45 billion, a 0.9% increase from 2025Q1.

Originations

• Mortgage originations increased slightly, with $458 billion newly originated in Q2.
• There were $188 billion in new auto loans and leases during Q2, an increase from the $166 billion observed in the first quarter of 2025.
• Aggregate limits on credit cards continued to rise, with a $78 billion (1.5%) uptick in the second quarter.
• Home equity lines of credit (HELOC) limits rose by $18 billion, continuing the growth in HELOC limits that began in 2022

Credit Quality

• Credit quality of newly originated loans was mixed: The credit scores of newly originated auto loans decreased, as the median score for auto loan originations decreased by 6 points.
• There was an improvement in the credit quality of mortgages, as the median score of newly originated mortgage loans increased by 5 points and the tenth percentile score increased by 13 points.

More