At banks outside the 100 largest, 6.49% of credit card balances were 30 or more days past due in the second quarter of 2026, seasonally adjusted. That is more than twice the 2.74% rate at the 100 largest banks, which hold most card debt and pull the all-bank rate down to 2.85%.
The gap is wider for losses. Smaller banks charged off 7.80% of card balances at an annual rate, against 3.70% at the top 100 and 3.82% for all banks. A year earlier, in Q2 2025, smaller banks were at 7.04% delinquent and 8.64% charged off.
Why the two groups differ
The 100 largest banks by assets include all the big card issuers and hold most bank card debt, so the all-bank rate tracks them closely. Smaller banks are a small slice of the market and a mixed group: community banks with a few cards issued to local customers, and some specialty lenders that focus on borrowers with lower credit scores. Their rates move around more from quarter to quarter, partly because a single lender can shift the average.
Smaller banks have reported higher card delinquency than the top 100 in every quarter since Q3 2010.
The smaller-bank delinquency rate peaked at 7.86% in Q4 2023.
Quarterly rates since 2019
| Quarter | Delinquency, smaller banks | Delinquency, top 100 | Delinquency, all banks | Charge-offs, smaller banks | Charge-offs, top 100 | Charge-offs, all banks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 6.49% | 2.74% | 2.85% | 7.80% | 3.70% | 3.82% |
| Q1 2026 | 6.44% | 2.80% | 2.91% | 8.02% | 3.66% | 3.82% |
| Q4 2025 | 6.61% | 2.83% | 2.95% | 8.25% | 4.02% | 4.09% |
| Q3 2025 | 6.75% | 2.87% | 2.99% | 8.81% | 4.06% | 4.18% |
| Q2 2025 | 7.04% | 2.92% | 3.04% | 8.64% | 4.06% | 4.19% |
| Q1 2025 | 7.18% | 2.93% | 3.05% | 8.90% | 4.27% | 4.44% |
| Q4 2024 | 7.14% | 2.97% | 3.08% | 9.27% | 4.51% | 4.57% |
| Q3 2024 | 7.46% | 3.08% | 3.20% | 9.45% | 4.58% | 4.69% |
| Q2 2024 | 7.76% | 3.10% | 3.22% | 9.52% | 4.42% | 4.56% |
| Q1 2024 | 7.79% | 3.03% | 3.17% | 9.53% | 4.19% | 4.40% |
| Q4 2023 | 7.86% | 2.96% | 3.10% | 9.39% | 3.96% | 4.18% |
| Q3 2023 | 7.55% | 2.81% | 2.95% | 8.64% | 3.54% | 3.76% |
| Q2 2023 | 7.43% | 2.61% | 2.75% | 8.60% | 3.07% | 3.23% |
| Q1 2023 | 7.24% | 2.32% | 2.47% | 8.16% | 2.74% | 2.86% |
| Q4 2022 | 6.87% | 2.10% | 2.26% | 6.91% | 2.31% | 2.51% |
| Q3 2022 | 6.87% | 1.89% | 2.05% | 6.34% | 1.98% | 2.10% |
| Q2 2022 | 5.99% | 1.70% | 1.83% | 5.70% | 1.74% | 1.86% |
| Q1 2022 | 5.17% | 1.58% | 1.69% | 4.90% | 1.60% | 1.73% |
| Q4 2021 | 4.61% | 1.47% | 1.57% | 4.50% | 1.56% | 1.63% |
| Q3 2021 | 4.32% | 1.44% | 1.53% | 4.25% | 1.75% | 1.81% |
| Q2 2021 | 4.19% | 1.51% | 1.59% | 4.97% | 2.31% | 2.38% |
| Q1 2021 | 4.62% | 1.80% | 1.88% | 4.92% | 2.70% | 2.81% |
| Q4 2020 | 5.04% | 2.02% | 2.10% | 5.68% | 2.62% | 2.68% |
| Q3 2020 | 5.11% | 1.88% | 1.99% | 6.55% | 3.57% | 3.60% |
| Q2 2020 | 5.62% | 2.36% | 2.45% | 7.74% | 3.67% | 3.78% |
| Q1 2020 | 7.16% | 2.55% | 2.69% | 7.41% | 3.55% | 3.72% |
| Q4 2019 | 6.68% | 2.48% | 2.61% | 7.08% | 3.70% | 3.78% |
| Q3 2019 | 6.01% | 2.54% | 2.60% | 6.76% | 3.77% | 3.75% |
| Q2 2019 | 6.57% | 2.48% | 2.59% | 6.60% | 3.54% | 3.63% |
| Q1 2019 | 5.54% | 2.48% | 2.54% | 7.11% | 3.57% | 3.68% |
Delinquency is the share of balances 30 days or more past due, at quarter-end. Charge-offs are loans written off, net of recoveries, at an annual rate. All rates are seasonally adjusted. The top 100 are the 100 largest U.S. commercial banks by assets; smaller banks are all others. Series: DRCCLT100S, DRCCLOBS, DRCCLACBS, CORCCT100S, CORCCOBS, CORCCACBS. The CSV has every quarter from 1991 (delinquency) and 1990 (charge-offs).
Source
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Charge-Off and Delinquency Rates on Loans and Leases at Commercial Banks, retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, October 24, 2026. Our table is available under CC BY 4.0. Credit "My Credit Guide (mycreditguide.org)".
Steven Reynolds, "Credit Card Delinquency at Small Banks vs. the 100 Largest," My Credit Guide, October 24, 2026, https://mycreditguide.org/data/card-delinquency-by-bank-size/.