By Michael S. Derby
(Reuters) -U.S. households fared far better when applying for credit for mortgage refinancing or auto loans in June, new figures on credit access from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York show.
The bank said Monday that rejected applications for mortgage refinancing dropped to 15% in June, versus 42% in February, which was the worst rejection-rate month in data that goes back to the fall of 2013.
The rejection rate for auto loans also retreated, though less dramatically, to 7% in June from February’s 14%.
Overall credit applications and rejection rates during the last year largely remained steady, the bank said.
The findings come from the bank’s Survey of Consumer Expectations, which is most closely watched for its monthly readings on inflation expectations and the consumer mood.
The bank said prospective borrowers who refrained from seeking credit as they expected their application to be rejected – so-called discouraged borrowers – stood at 7.2% of those surveyed in June, from 8.5% in February. Despite the retreat, the finding for last month came in above June 2024’s 5.5%.
According to the New York Fed, respondents saw a higher likelihood of facing an unexpected $2,000 expense in June, while the expected ability to cover such an outlay had also risen.
Other information from the bank has shown some rising stress for overall consumer-debt levels, although overall, current conditions are pretty healthy. The auto and housing markets have faced high borrowing costs as the Federal Reserve has kept its rate target relatively high to help curb inflation.
(Reporting by Michael S. Derby; Editing by Dale Hudson)
