US commercial banks are now sitting on $1.09 trillion in credit card and revolving consumer loan debt, a number that has never been this high. The figure, drawn from Federal Reserve data as of late April 2026, represents the latest milestone in a borrowing trend that has been accelerating since the pandemic recovery began in earnest.
To put that in perspective: credit card balances first crossed the $1 trillion threshold in mid-2023. It took decades to get there. The next $90 billion piled on in under three years.
The numbers behind the new record
The Fed’s Consumer Loans: Credit Cards and Other Revolving Plans series clocked in at $1,090.23 billion on April 29, 2026. A week later, on May 6, it registered $1,086.32 billion, a slight dip that doesn’t change the broader trajectory.
These figures represent what commercial banks specifically hold on their books. The total universe of US credit card debt is even larger. According to New York Fed data, total credit card balances across all lenders hit $1.28 trillion in Q4 2025 before pulling back to roughly $1.252 trillion in Q1 2026.
