Last week Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, announced that the company inherited a bunch of bad credit card debt from WaMu. He noted that at the end of the first quarter, 12.63% of the WaMu credit card loans were deemed uncollectable and noted that number could reach as high as 18 to 24 per cent by the end of 2009, depending on the health of the economy.
Hearing this news got me a little fired up. One the one hand, the credit card companies should have been smarter about who they lent money to. They probably got a little too loose on their lending standards and offered cards to people who didn't have the means to pay them back. Shame on them.
But credit card companies aside, I think it's amazing that individuals can assume debt and not pay it off. One of the core foundations of our country is individual responsibility and I strongly believe that people have an obligation to honor their debts and not spend more than they can afford to spend.
I know that people have unforeseen circumstances in their lives such as major illnesses and extended unemployment that cause them to get into financial trouble. I totally understand if that puts them in a precarious position where they must rely on borrowing. But 18 to 24% charge-offs by years end? That's far outside the range of unusual hardship and hints at irresponsible borrowing.
From a macroeconomic perspective, consumption is a cornerstone of our economy and vital for our economic recovery, as I said in response to Obama's stimulus package. Our economy thrives when people spend. But there is no such thing as a free lunch (except, of course, the free stock trades at Zecco Trading*). The economy got a boost for a period of time, but now it's taking a horrible beating and we're all paying for too-easy credit and excessive borrowing.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you think I'm being too harsh? Do you agree that one should be held responsible for his or her debts? Or do you think the banks deserve the blame?