Below are excerpts from the Large Bank Credit Card and Mortgage Data published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on April 8, 2026:
First Mortgage Credit:
“First-lien mortgage credit performance remains strong, with delinquencies steady near series lows. With mortgage rates declining in the fourth quarter, refinance originations showed renewed activity.; The favorable credit performance may be attributable to strong home price appreciation post-pandemic, which helped borrowers build equity, as well as healthier borrower profiles resulting from stringent origination policies after the Great Recession.
With mortgage rates at two-year lows in fourth quarter 2025, rate-sensitive borrowers refinanced their mortgages to reduce payments or extract home equity.
On a year-over-year basis, rate/term refinance originations doubled from $12.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024 to $25.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. Cash-out refinance also increased by more than one-third, rising from $7.6 billion to $10.4 billion in the same period.
Total balances associated with the large banks’ first-lien mortgage portfolios stood at $1.45 trillion at the end of the third quarter, virtually unchanged from a year earlier.
Credit Cards:
The average purchase APR for general purpose cards is currently 24.1 percent, while the average purchase APR for private label cards, historically higher in part because of looser underwriting practices, is even greater, currently at 31.3 percent.
Controlling for prevailing interest rates, the cost to borrowers of not paying their credit card balances in full each month is notably higher than several years ago. There were also fewer cardholders on promotional APR contracts in 2025, with less than 12 percent of accounts benefiting from promotions, the lowest share since 2021.
Credit card 30-day and 60-day delinquency rates declined slightly from a year ago across both accounts and balances. That said, delinquency rates at large banks remain notably above pre-pandemic levels.