While many consumers have been hit hard by the lingering impacts of the recession, a number of people have been able to maintain and even improve their current financial standing.
The economic recession had a significant financial impact on many consumers during the past several years. However, new analysis shows that many people still have very strong credit scores.
FICO reviewed credit score data to determine trends in consumers' finances. FICO scores range from 300 to 850. The study found that 18.3 percent of U.S. consumers had credit scores in the highest range - from 800 to 850. Despite thoughts that the economy would hurt credit scores, that percentage is the highest since October 2008.
At the same time the percentage of borrowers at the bottom of FICO's scale - between 300 to 549 - dropped to just 14.9 percent, which is the lowest since 2006.
"There has been a clear shift," said Rachel Bell of FICO Labs. "Many consumers have moved into the top tier of the FICO Score range by redoubling their efforts to maintain an excellent credit profile. Other people have fallen into lower tiers, most likely due to the financial stress that many households have been feeling."
However, the firm noted that not all of the shifts over the past year have been positive, with the number of people with credit scores in the 700s slipping. The implication was that many people who had good to very good scores have slipped slightly, but not to the bottom of the range.
The number of consumers with scores between 750 and 799 slipped to 19.4 percent, the lowest seen since April 2009. In addition, the percentage of scores between 700 and 749 dropped to 15.5 percent - the lowest since FICO began tracking the data in 2005.
"Despite this shift, we continue to observe more than half of FICO Scores in the U.S. are between 700-850, which means Americans have managed their credit well despite the economic downturn," Bell added.
Others analyzing the data said that final statistic - showing that most Americans have scores above 700 - refutes the thinking that consumers' credit scores have plunged dramatically in recent months in light of the struggling recovery.
