What the Big Banks' Third-Quarter Reports Say About Credit Card Borrowers

Credit cards are a huge benefit and a huge risk because they make it easy to spend. And since you don't have to pay the bill for 30 days or so, the hit can sometimes take consumers by surprise. This is why you can get an important read on consumers by looking at the credit card businesses of large banks like Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Citigroup (NYSE: C), and Capital One (NYSE: COF). The read after the third quarter: the consumer is looking good. Here's the proof.

Banks take on the credit risk

While credit cards usually carry the logos of companies like Visa (NYSE: V) or Mastercard (NYSE: MA), those companies are just payment processors. They charge small fees for facilitating financial transactions; the banks that issue the credit cards bear the financial risk. If a customer doesn't pay their credit card bill, banks like Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Capital One have to eat the cost.

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That said, issuing credit cards can be a very profitable business. So there's a balance that has to be struck between risk and reward. And when it comes to the risk side, banks tell you each quarter what's going on. They do this by reporting their 30-day and 90-day delinquency ratios and charge-off ratios. You just have to dig into the financial releases to find the data.

Everything is OK for now

Citigroup's credit card operations had a 30-day delinquency ratio of 1.16% in its own branded card portfolio in the third quarter. In cards it issues for other companies, often called private-label cards, that ratio was 1.96%. Private-label cards tend to be issued to riskier customers. Still, neither figure is particularly bad, and both are lower than they were a year ago. That same story holds for the 90-day delinquency ratios, which came in at 1.21% for Citigroup's cards and 1.92% for private-label cards.

JPMorgan Chase is the same exact story. The fairly strong 1.97% 30-day delinquency rate was down from a year ago. And the even stronger 90-day delinquency rate of 0.96% was also down from a year ago.

Bank of America's story is no different. Its 30-day delinquency rate stood at 2.32% in the third quarter of 2026, down from the same quarter in 2025. Its 90-day delinquency rate was 1.13%, also down year over year. That said, the company also reports net charge-offs, which came in at 3.22%. Like the delinquency rates, the financial giant's charge-offs were lower than they were a year ago.

Capital One tends to take on lower-credit-quality customers. That's probably why its 3.72% 30-day delinquency rate is higher than the other banks here. However, like the other banks, Capital One's 30-day delinquency rate was lower in the third quarter than it was a year ago. That said, it did tick up slightly from the second quarter's 3.37%. It wasn't the only bank to see a sequential increase from the second quarter, but the jump was easily the biggest here. Still, charge-offs fell sequentially and year-over-year to 4.01%, so it doesn't look like the bank's credit risks are getting out of hand.

It looks like consumers are holding up well

The news is filled with stories about the financial strains that consumers are facing. High inflation may be a pain, as costs increase, but increasingly budget-conscious consumers don't appear to have overextended themselves. At least, that's what the credit card data from some of the world's largest financial companies and credit card issuers suggests.

Citigroup is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard, and Visa. The Motley Fool recommends Capital One Financial. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.