Consumers also appear to be seeking less new credit: Applications for new credit accounts, as recorded in data from the national credit bureaus, remain significantly lower than were observed for most of the past decade. Credit supply factors have also likely contributed to the decline in overall credit card outstanding balances. Households may have charged less because they had less credit available.
In the SCF panel, about 44 percent of households with credit card debt in 2007 experienced a reduction in their credit limits by 2009.