During the first quarter of this year, says the Fed, credit-card balances fell by about $19.5 billion. How much of that was written off? About $18.7 billion, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
He discusses how the credit write downs are misleading. Americans are defaulting not saving to pay off debt, and they are staying current on their credit card payments because it is their last source of liquidity to cover their living expenses, so they will do everything in their power to send the minimum payment.
