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Synchrony, which has 68 million active accounts, saw more consumers paying back their loans in the second quarter of 2025 versus last year.Jaque Silva/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesAmericans have more debt than they’ve ever had, making them vulnerable to defaulting on their loans if the economy turns south. New financial results from credit card issuer Synchrony show that U.S. borrowers are holding up fine, but if inflation rises sharply again, all bets are off.
Synchrony is a Stamford, Connecticut-based bank that offers co-branded credit cards and point-of-sale loans for customers like Sam’s Club, Lowe’s and PayPal. One in every four American adults has a Synchrony card, the company says, so its financial performance gives us an inside look into consumers’ financial health. The bank manages a book of $100 billion in loans and has a stock market value of $27 billion.
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During the first two years of the pandemic, U.S. consumers became financially healthier than ever thanks to government stimulus checks and increased saving. But after inflation rose quickly in the years that followed, consumers strained to meet rising expenses, with lower-income consumers being particularly hard-hit.
Default rates hit alarmingly high levels. In November 2024, nearly 8% of people with credit scores of 660 or below were at least 30 days late on their credit card payments. It was the highest delinquency rate seen among that group since January 201 …
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