Consumer Borrowing Falls Significantly in February

Washington, DC, April 7, 2008—Consumers significantly slowed their pace of borrowing in February, according to the Federal Reserve.

The Fed reported that consumer borrowing rose at an annual rate of 2.4 percent in February, less than half of the 4.9 percent increase in January.

The slowdown reflected much weaker demand non-revolving credit, which rose at a rate of 0.4 percent in February, far lower than the 3.6 percent growth rate in January. Credit card debt rose at a 5.9 percent rate.

Because of tightened lending standards, consumers have been putting more of their purchases on their credit cards.

The overall increase in credit of $5.16 billion, down from $10.3 billion in January, pushed total consumer credit to a record $2.539 trillion.

The Fed's measure of consumer borrowing does not include real estate debt.