Credit Lines Become the New Household Liquidity Buffer

Consumers are watching their spending more closely, but they are not giving up the financial leeway that credit can provide. That is the larger trend emerging from recent PYMNTS Intelligence research, and new Federal Reserve Bank of New York data adds another piece of evidence. The share of consumers who applied for credit during the previous 12 months reached 46.1% in June, up from 44.4% in February and the highest level since October 2021, per the central bank reflecting June’s trends.