Credit Card Loans at US Banks Rise in Q4'21 Despite Slowed Consumer Spending

Credit card loans at U.S. banks ticked up year over year during the fourth quarter of 2021 even though the omicron variant of the coronavirus slowed consumer spending.

Such loans rose 6.0% year over year during the period, compared to a 1.2% increase in the previous quarter, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Loan growth in the U.S. banking sector picked up substantially in the quarter and is expected to improve notably in 2022.

In 2022, many banks are expecting to continue booking growth in overall loans. Bank of America Corp., whose credit card loans rose 3.6% year over year to $81.52 billion, anticipates continued momentum in lending to translate into a high-single-digit percentage increase in its loan portfolio this year. So far in the first quarter, loans across the bank's core businesses are increasing at a mid-single- to upper-single-digit annualized percentage rate, according to Chairman, CEO and President Brian Moynihan.

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