Americans are borrowing like never before, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve revealing that U.S. household debt swelled to a record $16.9 trillion in the final quarter of 2022, notching the largest quarterly increase in 20 years.
Total debt balances grew by $394 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, driven mostly by a $254 billion increase in mortgage balances, according to the latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, released on Feb. 16.
Overall household debt balances are now $2.75 trillion higher than at the end of 2019, the last year before the pandemic recession hit….