Report
Credit and Policy Crosswinds
Published May 27, 2025
Commercial Commercial Insights Credit & Economic Trends Economic & Market Insights
U.S. small businesses are navigating a challenging but stabilizing credit environment, shaped by persistent inflation, elevated interest rates, and cautious consumer sentiment. According to Experian’s latest data, small business credit utilization has remained steady, reflecting disciplined borrowing behavior, while delinquency rates have shown only modest increases, suggesting overall credit health remains intact. The Experian Small Business Index™ indicates a slight uptick in new business credit applications, signaling renewed interest in growth despite macroeconomic headwinds.
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Report
2026 State of Credit Cards
As the credit card landscape evolves, understanding how consumers and businesses are adapting has never been more important.
Our second annual State of Credit Cards Report provides a timely update on key market dynamics and dives into an often-overlooked segment within credit card portfolios: business accounts.
Key takeaways:
- 30+ DPD delinquency rates remained above pre-pandemic levels in 2025.
- Fintechs continue to gain share in the credit card market, posting a 71% YoY increase in account originations.
- Many businesses use consumer credit cards to support business-related activity, making this segment easy for lenders to overlook.
Report
Regional Economic Health Tracker
The Regional Economic Health Tracker examines consumer health across the four U.S. census regions. It highlights how regional dynamics, from data center growth to housing costs and credit conditions, are shaping household finances today.
- Regional income, spending, and cost-of-living trends
- Housing market performance and price changes
- Consumer stress and 30+ DPD balances by product
White Paper
Unlocking credit potential: the financial behavior and creditworthiness of ITIN holders
ITIN holders are active, responsible participants in the U.S. credit economy — yet many remain overlooked by traditional lending models.
Our white paper takes a closer look at this financially active and resilient population, revealing key insights into their credit performance and long-term growth potential.
Some findings include:
- Most ITIN holders are concentrated in states that represent a large share of the U.S. economy: California, Texas and New York.
- 76.9% of ITIN holders remained current on trades after 12 months, a rate 15% higher than SSN consumers.
- ITIN holders maintain a lower debt-to-income ratio (25%) than SSN consumers.
Read the full white paper for more insights.
Tip Sheet
A companion piece to Bridging the credit divide: income, risk and inclusion in consumer finance
This summary outlines important research findings that help lenders drive a more inclusive environment for customers, while mitigating risk.
A few takeaways:
- Understanding the profiles of who’s more prone to exclusion informs risk management.
- Machine learning techniques can also be deployed to help detect economic interaction effects or shifts.
- Attributes like education level, occupation or rent/utilities payment history have predictive power in credit outcomes.