NEW YORK (AP) -- Chase on Wednesday reported an increase in the rate its customers defaulted on their credit card balances in January but said late payments continued to decline.
The rates for the credit card division of JPMorgan Chase & Co. remain near levels that were typical before the economic crisis.
DEFAULT: Chase wrote off 4.25 percent of balances on an annualized basis last month, up from 4.11 percent in December. A year ago, Chase's charge-off rate was 5.97 percent.
LATE PAYMENTS: Payments on 2.45 percent of balances were delinquent, or late by 30 days or more, in January. That's down from 2.48 percent in December, and from 3.39 percent a year ago.
PEAK RATES: Chase's worst month for charge-offs came in January 2010, when it recorded defaults on 10.91 percent of balances. Card companies typically write off loans after they're six months past due.
Delinquencies reached their highest point in October 2009, at 4.95 percent. The figure is seen as an indicator for what to expect for defaults in coming months.
Shares of JPMorgan Chase added 5 cents to $37.97 in morning trading.
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