December 26, 2019

Why Are Small-Bank Credit Card Delinquencies Up?

Our friends at the St. Louis Fed present us with a mystery this week:

In the third quarter of 2017, small banks saw a huge surge in credit card delinquency rates. Nor was this just a weird spike: delinquencies have stayed high ever since. Meanwhile, big banks have seen no change at all. What’s going on?

The St. Louis Fed folks don’t know. I don’t know either. But something sure seems to have happened in the summer of 2017. Anyone have any guesses?

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LET’S TALK ABOUT OPTIMISM FOR A CHANGE

Democracy and journalism are in crisis mode—and have been for a while. So how about doing something different?

Mother Jones did. We just merged with the Center for Investigative Reporting, bringing the radio show Reveal, the documentary film team CIR Studios, and Mother Jones together as one bigger, bolder investigative journalism nonprofit.

And this is the first time we’re asking you to support the new organization we’re building. In “Less Dreading, More Doing,” we lay it all out for you: why we merged, how we’re stronger together, why we’re optimistic about the work ahead, and why we need to raise the First $500,000 in online donations by June 22.

It won’t be easy. There are many exciting new things to share with you, but spoiler: Wiggle room in our budget is not among them. We can’t afford missing these goals. We need this to be a big one. Falling flat would be utterly devastating right now.

A First $500,000 donation of $500, $50, or $5 would mean the world to us—a signal that you believe in the power of independent investigative reporting like we do. And whether you can pitch in or not, we have a free Strengthen Journalism sticker for you so you can help us spread the word and make the most of this huge moment.

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