When it comes to debt loads, Generation X remains on top.
According to the latest data released by consumer credit reporting agency TransUnion, millennials have now overtaken Baby Boomers when it comes to total debt holdings. However, members of Generation X continue to carry the most debt among Canadians.
TransUnion says that total millennial debt rose by 12.3% in the first half of the year compared with a year earlier to hit $515.9 billion, just ahead of the $514.3 billion owed by Baby Boomers but still behind the $767.4 billion held by Generation X.
Younger borrowers helped push overall consumer debt held by Canadians up 4.3% at the end of the second quarter compared with 2018 to $1.88 trillion, while debt held by Boomers declined slightly. The rising debt came even as lenders issued 8.9% fewer mortgages in the first quarter, and 1.6% fewer auto loans, though lines of credit rose 13.9% in the first half of the year.
Average mortgage debt went up 3.56% year-over-year to $269.27 billion while the average consumer balance on instalment loans rose 7.38% to $34.2 billion as younger borrowers took on more loans in the category.
TransUnion said low unemployment and stable interest rates have helped keep debt delinquencies relatively low even as debt levels rise.
