Consumers expected to stay current as credit conditions improve

As Americans continue to be more conscientious in their efforts to pay down their outstanding credit card debt and other loan balances, lenders believe they will be in a better position to continue broadening lending standards.

Credit risk professionals expect that they will see declines in delinquencies across nearly all loan types in the next six months, and as a consequence will keep expanding their efforts to offer more lines of credit, according to the latest quarterly survey from the credit scoring firm FICO. For example, 68 percent of respondents to the poll said they expected credit card delinquencies to either stay the same or continue declining in the next six months, an improvement from the previous quarter's 61 percent. That's also the lowest rate seen since the second quarter of last year.

Consequently, 71 percent of credit issuers believe they will give out enough new credit cards to satisfy consumer demand during the next six months, the report said.

Consumers have been trying to reduce debt for some time now, having changed borrowing and repayment habits during and following the recent recession.