CFPB Report Shows Substantial Decline in Credit Applications in March 2020

An interesting CFPB report identifies the early effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the decline of consumer credit applications in March 2020.  The CFPB examined the number of credit pulls or “hard inquiries” performed in conjunction with new credit applications in March of 2020. Some of the observations are:

• Auto Loan inquiries decreased by 52%;
• New mortgage inquiries fell by 27%;
• Revolving credit card inquiries declined by 40%;
• Declines are greater for consumers with higher credit scores;
• Significant geographic variation in declines occurred; and
• A strong correlation exists between the inquiry declines and the COVID-19 case rate.