Paying the piper: Home equity loan delinquencies rise

It was fun while it lasted. All that extra money from your home equity that helped you finance your new car or the his and her flat-screen TVs.

The party may be over. The American Bankers Association yesterday released its quarterly survey of consumer loans, and noted that late payments on home equity loans rose to 2.15% in the first quarter. That's up quite a tick from 1.92% in the final quarter of last year.

Payments are considered delinquent if they are 30 or more days past late.

"There are still signs of consumer financial distress, which will continue throughout most of this year as the worst of the housing problem works its way through the economy," said James Chessen, the association's chief economist, in a press release. Still?

The ABA's survey is based on information supplied by more than 300 banks nationwide. Delinquencies on a bevy of other consumer loans are also growing, including those for auto, boats and home improvement, according to the survey. These loans increased 2.42% in the first quarter. That's up from the fourth quarter's 2.23% delinquency rate, and the highest since the second quarter of 2001, when, if you remember, we were in a recession.

Strangely, this same survey suggests that credit-card payment delinquencies are down. I don't know what to make of that one. But it's definitely just one more cloud on the horizon.