Americans’ credit scores fall as they struggle to pay bills

Kathy Chu
USA Today
Wednesday, May 27, 2009

From the third quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009 — the latest data available — the average TransUnion credit score dropped 6 points to 651, the credit bureau says. Scores fell more dramatically in states hardest hit by the housing bust: California saw a 10-point drop, for example, and Arizona, 11.

“Consumers are feeling the bite of the current recession,” says Ezra Becker, a director in TransUnion’s financial services group. “With delinquencies showing up in credit files, it’s not surprising that the average score is decreasing somewhat.”

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Becker believes credit scores aren’t likely to improve — and could even drop further — through the second quarter of 2010.

More than 200 million U.S. consumers have credit scores, so a change of even a few points in the national average can be significant, experts say.

Full story here.

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