Citibank sees less defaulted credit card debt in September

Citibank said that its charge offs – credit card debt that is 90 days or more behind and deemed uncollectable – declined to 8.99 percent in September after it spiked at 11.18 percent in August, according to Businessweek. Prior to that, it had reached 9.75 percent in July. Citibank reported sharper improvements than any other major lender for the month.

Meanwhile, the bank saw its rate of delinquency – credit card debt that had gone 30 days or more without a payment – decline as well, though considerably less sharply, the report said. September's late balances made up 4.93 percent of all accounts, down from 4.95 percent in August.

Delinquent and defaulted credit card debt is often closely tied to the national unemployment rate. However, these figures have continued to decline over the last year even as joblessness has persisted across the country, hovering at or around 10 percent.