Thread by @BChappatta

Young Americans have fallen seriously behind on their credit-card payments.

Some 8.05% of outstanding credit card debt among 18 to 29 year olds was delinquent by at least 90 days, the highest level since early 2011.

Here's why that's worrisome. 1/5

bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

The fact that millennials are more behind on credit-card payments than older generations isn't too surprising. But they had been closing the gap in recent years.

Now delinquencies are on the rise again, even though the labor market is as strong as ever. 2/5

This should be concerning to credit-card issuers. They have seen their gauge of "bad debt" rise to the highest level in almost seven years.

However, CEOs at Capital One and Discover largely chalked that up to negative events coming off the credit reports of some consumers. 3/5

Indeed, the prospect of "grade inflation" among individuals is catching on. Goldman Sachs analysts warned about the risks embedded in a given FICO score last month, which I saw as a sign that lenders need to get smarter. 4/5

bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

Put together, these are two distinct trends that should sound some alarm bells in the credit-card industry.

It remains to be seen just how much the U.S.-China trade war will hit Americans' pocketbooks, but if it's a prolonged standoff, delinquencies could only get worse. 5/5