U.S. credit card defaults fall, but delinquencies up

By Juan Lagorio

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Most of the largest U.S. credit card companies reported defaults fell in September as consumers used tax refunds and other economic stimulus proceeds to lower debts, but late payments rose, suggesting more troubles ahead in an already battered industry.

The decline in defaults from record highs last month reflected a contraction earlier this year of late payments.

But delinquencies, an indicator of future credit losses, resumed an upward trend in August in some companies and climbed more than expected in September, signaling bad loans will rise in coming months and will peak later than anticipated.

Credit card chargeoffs -- loans the companies do not expect to be repaid -- usually track unemployment, which rose to a 26-year high of 9.8 percent in September. The jobless rate is expected to top 10 percent by year-end.

"We continue to expect delinquencies to rise this year and next year. We have seen some improvement over the summer, which was driven in our view by some seasonal factors," said Jason Arnold, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets. "Chargeoffs in general will continue to rise in coming months."

American Express Co (AXP.N), the biggest U.S. credit card company by purchasing volume, said its chargeoff rate fell to 8.4 percent in September from 9.0 percent in August.

Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), the largest U.S. bank, said its rate fell to 14.25 percent from 14.54 percent.

Citigroup Inc (C.N), the biggest issuer of MasterCard-branded credit cards, posted the deepest decline as defaults fell to 10.15 percent from 12.14 percent.