Third Party Debt Collection Accounts Fall in Q3

The percentage of Americans with at least one account in third party collections fell in the third quarter of 2012, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The average account balance of those in collection also decreased slightly.

In its Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit for the third quarter of 2012, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York noted that 14 percent of American consumers had an account in the third party debt collection system, down from 14.25 percent in the second quarter. Since peaking at 14.38 percent in the second quarter of 2011, the percentage of consumers in collections has steadily fallen.