The ranks of super prime credit-score holders have grown by 15 million over the last half-dozen years, thanks in part to young people.
Americans with top-tier scores above 780 have been a boost to banks, which are increasingly courting high-end customers with offers of credit cards and other loans. Banks touted their focus on customers with strong credit while reporting first-quarter earnings growth in recent weeks.
“With our portfolio heavily weighted to prime, delinquencies and credit losses declined and are well in line with expectations,” said Jane Fraser, Citigroup’s chair and chief executive, on an earnings call.
Approximately 85% of the bank’s balances are extended to consumers with a FICO score of 660 or higher.
Lots of consumers entered the super prime category during the pandemic when they received stimulus payments or cut back on spending, according to TransUnion, a credit-reporting firm. The growth continued as worker incomes have risen, and stocks and home values surged.