Overview
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that delinquency rates for U.S. loans rose modestly across several categories in 2025. The central bank described the increases as small, while noting that loan growth more broadly remained steady over the year.
Banking system condition
Despite the uptick in delinquencies, the Fed reported that most U.S. lenders continue to hold strong capital positions and that the banking system remains broadly stable. The supervisory report emphasized that capital buffers at many institutions remain intact, reinforcing the Fed's view of overall system stability.
Consumer lending trends
The Fed's supervision and regulation report detailed a mixed pattern for consumer credit through 2025. Consumer loan delinquencies declined for the majority of the year but then rose moderately in the final two quarters. Within consumer lending, both auto loan and credit card delinquencies increased in the second half of 2025. Nevertheless, the Fed noted that each of those categories finished the year at lower delinquency levels than in 2024.
Commercial and residential real estate
In addition to consumer loans, the Fed said delinquency rates also edged higher for commercial and residential real estate loans. The increases were described as modest but occurred across multiple loan types.
Private credit and nonbank concerns
The report called attention to elevated concerns in the private credit sector following several high-profile defaults by nonbank entities. The Fed contrasted those headline defaults with regulatory data showing limited delinquencies within the nonbank sector overall. In response to the events, the central bank said some banks are reviewing their collateral management practices tied to exposures in private markets.
Conclusion
Overall, the Fed characterized the changes in delinquency rates in 2025 as modest and stressed that loan growth stayed steady while capital positions remained largely robust. The report singled out private credit and collateral management as areas of supervisory focus given recent nonbank defaults.