JPMorgan Chase’s credit card business is showing signs of life, persuading company executives that a resumption of loan growth is getting nearer, though perhaps not right around the corner.
While total loans in consumer and community banking fell by 2% year over year during the third quarter, credit card spending continued to increase, and outstanding balances rose slightly. The rates at which customers make payments on their cards, while still unusually high, began to return to more normal levels.
One question now is whether the growth in card spending will result in higher revolving card balances, Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum said Wednesday. He sounded hopeful, but still cautious about the short-term outlook, saying that customers who would typically have revolving debt appear to be spending down their excess liquidity quickly,
