US cards

That improvement in delinquency rates partly reflects risk-aversion among issuers, which have cut the number of cards by 82 million, or 19 per cent, over the past year, while slashing credit limits by $US721 billion ($835 billion) to about $US3.6 trillion.

The number of new cards being issued is down even more dramatically. In June, 2.6 million new cards were issued, compared with 4.7 million a year earlier.

Lenders are increasingly targeting consumers with high credit scores, Equifax found. While in 2007, about one in five new cards went to people with a credit score above 760, such consumers account for two in five new cards in 2009. Equifax found similar trends in auto loans.

"The data from August further confirms that we're witnessing a dramatic change in consumer habits," said Dann Adams, president of Equifax's Consumer Information Solutions group.

Total consumer debt is down more than $US300 billion, or almost 3 per cent, from its peak in September 2008, Mr Adams said, while the savings rate is nearing 5 per cent, "a level we haven't seen in years."