New Delhi, Aug. 12 -- carrying more credit card debt than at any point in recorded history and paying the highest interest rates in a generation to sustain it.

The New York Federal Reserve reported Tuesday that credit card balances reached $1.263 trillion at the end of the second quarter, up $21 billion in three months and $54 billion year-over-year, the highest figure the central bank has ever recorded. The report, which tracks household debt and credit conditions across all major categories, found total household debt at $18.8 trillion, an increase of $383 billion from a year earlier.

The serious delinquency rate, meaning balances 90 days or more past due, stood at 6.97 percent for credit cards in Q2 2026. "Delinquency rates across mo...