Household debts climbed by $226 billion to $12.6 trillion in the fourth quarter
.. “Debt held by Americans is approaching its previous peak, yet its composition today is vastly different as the growth in balances has been driven by non-housing debt ..
.. total household borrowing today is 67% of nominal gross domestic product, compared with about 85% in 2008.
.. Households shed nearly $1.5 trillion in housing debt between 2008 and 2013
.. A decade ago, there were less than $500 billion in student loans, but as tuition rose and growing numbers of students borrowed for college, the sum surpassed $1 trillion for the first time in 2013 and stood at $1.3 trillion in the fourth quarter.
.. Just 4.8% of loan balances were in delinquency in the fourth quarter, the lowest level in more than a decade, and down from as high as 11.9% in 2009