By JONATHAN BAGLEY
Delinquent credit card debt in 1996 rose as high as the levels seen in 1992, passing $4 billion dollars, according to Veribanc, Inc., in Wakefield, Mass.
Veribanc is a bank rating service and bases its information on the nation's 10,172 banks.
Warren Heller, research director for Veribanc said, 'there has been a cultural shift; people are not disciplined. They haven't been through a depression to help them appreciate saving.'
Veribanc's research from 1992 indicated that consumers feeling the effects of the recession were not able to repay debts. Now, the high levels are the result of the combination of an increase in cardholders and people losing jobs, Heller said.
'The economy is growing slightly, but there is still job loss,' Heller said.
Banks are not trying to control the problem, which may mean more trouble for 1997. Credit card loans earn banks billions of dollars. To capitalize on the demand, banks are increasing promotion of their cards and making them easier to obtain. They are also raising credit limits to answer consumer demand.
'Interest rates for cards are so bloomin' high,' Heller said.
Heller also said that people will always want to prevent losing their house first, and secondly their car.
'People are as serious as they ever were about repaying their debts,' he said. 'They just can't. I don't think anyone likes to be called at all hours of the night by a collection agency, or have to file for bankruptcy.'