Given data processing issues, certain data in the following release were edited in August 2018

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York today released results from its February 2015 SCE Credit Access Survey, which provides information on consumers' experiences and expectations regarding credit demand and credit access. The release shows little change in application rates for credit over the last twelve months, but a decline in rejection rates, particularly for credit card limit increases. The expectations component of the survey shows an increase in the average likelihood of applying for credit over the next 12 months for all five credit products; the increase is most pronounced for mortgage refinance requests.

Experiences

• The distribution of credit seekers was largely unchanged from October 2014: 36.9 percent of respondents applied for credit over the last 12 months and were granted credit, 9.2 percent applied and were rejected, and 7.8 percent were too discouraged to apply despite indicating a need for credit.

• Rejection rates decreased from their previous reading in October 2014.
  • Rejection rates per applicant from 24.2 percent to 20.0 percent. While rejection rates declined for higher creditworthy groups, they rose for the lowest creditworthy group to 52.6 percent, up from 48.7 percent in October 2014 and 46.3 percent in June 2014.
  • Rejection rates per application decreased from 22.2 percent to 18.3 percent, returning to early and mid-2014 levels. Rejection rates declined for all age groups, with larger declines for those aged 40 and below, and those 60 and above.

• Turning to specific credit types (credit card; credit card limit increase; auto loan; mortgage; mortgage refinance), application rates were largely unchanged. The most notable change in rejection rates was for credit card limit increase requests that decreased from 38 percent to 24 percent.

Expectations

• The proportion of respondents who report they are likely to apply for at least one type of credit over the next 12 months decreased from 32 percent in October to 29 percent, back to levels seen during the first half of 2014. This decline was largely driven by middle-aged respondents (ages 41-59).

• At the same time, the average likelihood of applying for credit over the next 12 months increased for each credit type separately. The most pronounced increase was observed for the average likelihood of applying for a mortgage refinance over the next 12 months, which doubled from 6 percent in October to 12 percent. While increases are observed for all sub-groups, they are striking for 41-59 year old respondents, for whom the average likelihood jumped from 6 percent to 15 percent.

• The average perceived likelihood of the credit application being rejected, conditional on applying, remained relatively stable for mortgages, credit cards and auto loans, and declined slightly for credit card limit increase requests and mortgage refinance applications.

Detailed results are available here.

About the SCE Credit Access Survey
The SCE Credit Access Survey, fielded as part of the SCE (Survey of Consumer Expectations), provides information on consumers' experiences and expectations regarding credit demand and credit access. Every four months, SCE panelists are asked whether they applied for credit in the past 12 months, and the resulting outcomes. They are also asked about their expectations of applying for credit over the next twelve months, and the perceived likelihood of those applications being accepted. We collect this information for five specific credit products: auto loans, credit cards, credit card limit increases, mortgages, and mortgage refinancing. Survey findings (in instances with sufficient sample sizes) are also presented separately by age and self-reported credit score subgroups.

A full set of interactive charts detailing the monthly SCE Credit Access Survey findings can be found here.

More information about the SCE survey goals, design, and content can be found here.

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